Because the Night
by phantomwriter05
Summary: Under a serious reconstruction. Jameron, Sarah/Derek.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay … So how do I put this … hmm**_

_**So this isn't really a Sequel to Purpose because well you don't really have to read Purpose to get into it, however those of you that did read purpose the fall out from the end of the story will be addressed. **_

_**Well enjoy it. **_

**Prologue**

The heat of the desert swept through a darkened and musty abandoned house.

Sweat stung the eyes of a pretty nurse in her early thirties.

Michelle Dixon blinked away fearful tears as she whimpered out sputtering breaths, watching a handsome blond whose face was plastered all over the news; a dead man who massacred twenty FBI Tactical Team members.

She was even in the hospital when the body of George Lazlo was taken to the morgue. Amy and Betsy, her best friends and fellow nurses, had snuck down to see it, like they were going to see a freak show at the circus. She called them weirdos, choosing instead to play Rummy with Mrs. Rosenthal, a cancer patient.

Now after being kidnapped and bound to a chair in an abandoned house, in the middle of the desert, she wasn't sure what this man, this psychopath, wanted with her. All she wanted was to be found by her husband, to feel his arms around her. However when she called him all he did was ask her strange questions, offering no comfort, no reassurances.

"Please" Michelle asked in a sob, watching her captor arrange mouse traps in an equal square pattern on the floor next to her. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, watching the blond man attach a wire to one of the traps.

He said nothing as he finished his fitting of the wire.

"Why are you …?" she attempted again, but was cut off by the loud sound of duct tape being unwound.

"No, don't tape my mouth. I won't scream." She pleaded as the man measured off a piece of the grey sticky paper. Her blond captor had no ounce of emotion as he ripped off a piece of tape.

"I swear I won't scream. I won't scream." She begged shaking her head. Her pleas fell on uncaring ears as the man fitted her lips with an evenly measured piece of restraint.

Satisfied with the muffled cries of fear the man went back to work on his traps in silence. After several beats he spoke to Michelle as if he was explaining his plans to his prisoner.

"In 1897, James Atkinson invented the mousetrap." He explained to the woman he had tied to the chair who looked at him with wide eyes, as if he had lost his mind. Without looking up he continued, "The spring slammed shut in 38 thousandths of a second." Pulling the metal spring back, he turned to face Michelle placing his hands on the chair.

"It's a record that's never been beaten." With no effort he lifted her chair, which received a panicked muffle from Mrs. Dixon as he carefully placed her on his work. A small click sounded as if something was put in place.

"It's hard to build a better one." He said emotionlessly tightening a wire.

"The same story can be applied to you, brother." A very deep voice spoke with a gravely mechanical echo to it.

Michelle and Cromartie turned to a shadow standing in the door way. The figure was huge, seven feet tall, his chest and shoulders were covered in enormous muscles that jutted through the black tanktop he wore. His thin waist gave his large powerful legs an artificial look.

Michelle let out a frightened muffled scream at the expressionless chromed-metal opera mask the large monster-of-a-man wore over his face. Through eye slits in the metal covering blood shot and crazed eyes looked at Cromartie evenly.

"Our father thanks you for your noble sacrifice." The masked figure nodded at Michelle's captor before he stalked toward the machine.

* * *

Usually stoic, mocha eyes watched a pretty, blond girl talk with a hoody-clad teenage boy . They held a strained anger as the teens smiled and chit-chatted near a magazine rack. Cameron Baum (Phillips) wondered what John saw in this new girl Riley that she didn't have, and why he chose to spend his time with the blond and not with her. She had once heard Sarah Connor refer to John as a notorious blond monger. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she had noticed that John seemed to set his sights on girls with yellow hair, such as Cheri Weston.

Even then, John always seemed to prefer to spend time with her, than to chase a clearly unviable, lanky and under-developed girl such as Cheri. The thought turned Cameron to her breasts and toned body to which she gave a small ghost of a smile at her endowments, which she learned was an advantage in this vain period of human history. Cameron's lightened expression disappeared when she caught the teens share coy smiles.

There wasn't any blame on John from Cameron's side. She understood that after her glitch there was a tension and uncertainty amongst her adopted family about her status and control. But it was no where near the conflict raging inside her. There was a very human fear that gripped Cameron every time her screen sputtered, every time there was a small black out in her HUD she clenched her teeth and hoped that she wouldn't come back to awareness to find that she had bathed in her best friend's, her purpose in life's, blood.

In the scattered memories of her chip the voice of an angry raven haired, brown eyed teenager chastised General John Connor.

"_I rather have died in ignorance!" _

Cameron felt a kinship to the stranger in her memory as a part of her wished that John would have never brought her back to fight the demons that now plagued her everyday. She wished that John would have burned her, so that she wouldn't remember the sadness and fear of her core programming taking over her body, where she could only watch as Skynet's phantom hunted John and Sarah like animals. It was only by a burst of will that she could overpower the override the ghost of Skynet cast on her.

Yet, the damage had been done. Skynet had knowledge of her inner most thoughts and had used it against John. If she had had control of her own body she would have begged John in tears, not for mercy, but for death as her dark father's will was ever inside her, trying to force its way out and to take control of its fallen angel, and she was unsure how long she could hold it off.

When she had woken in those first moments, saw John holding a gun to her, and scanned the thermite scattered over her torn body, she knew he had brought her back. The action alone was a silent answer to her private questions about why he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking, or why he was caressing her face when she came back from destroying the ARTIE system.

He would never admit it to her, but he was in love. That was why he couldn't be trusted anymore. He loved her and as long as he did, he would risk his own safety for her and she couldn't let anything happen to him.

"Dude your sister."

Cameron caught the couple she was glaring at look in her direction with Riley pointing. Cameron locked eyes with John just as a group of people passed in between the three teenagers. When they passed, John and his blond were gone. She stood swiftly from her coffee house table and found no trace of them.

"_Bitch whore." _

* * *

A dusty cloud of sand trailed an old, beat-up Jeep that rushed down a heated desert highway toward an abandoned house. Sarah didn't like this, she didn't like going in blind, without intel, or even the semblance of a plan. She sighed from the passenger seat and ran her hand through her mane of long, raven locks and looked out the side window. She watched the dunes pass by like yellow blurs. From the side mirror she spotted Charlie; he was a nervous wreck, sweating and shifting uncomfortably in the back seat. He looked exactly the way she felt inside.

"_This is a trap to get John, why in god's name am I out here?" _

Sarah knew the reason why. It was her desperately clinging to a future that was no longer attainable. It was a future with a white picket fence, and a man who loved her. Where she would give John a home to spend his days in peace, make friends and go to college to learn to be whoever he wanted to be.

That dream died the day Charlie gave her the sparkling ring the John had chosen for him. That night she let him make love to her, but she couldn't help but feel guilty as she felt his lips and hands trace her gorgeous body. She couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting Kyle, like committing her love and life to Charlie in a white gown was somehow turning her back on all her soldier had given her.

With a turn, she glanced at the man behind the wheel. Derek Reese had a focused look; not nervous or distant, simply focused, like an old professional. He bothered her. It wasn't his existence, or the way he pushed her and John, she could handle that. What bothered her was that she didn't feel the same guilt that plagued her and Charlie's relationship when she was with him. Why did she feel so safe with him around? Maybe it was because they shared a bond in Kyle and John, or maybe it was the plan simple fact that she felt safest with a Reese. The two weren't together, hell they couldn't even spend ten minutes in the same room without digging at each other.

There was something that separated the two men in the car with her. Charlie had limits; there were things that he wouldn't do, lines he wouldn't cross for anyone. Derek Reese, on the other hand, he would do anything and everything he needed to do to protect John. He would die for her son and in the back of Sarah's mind, she knew that he would do the same for her.

"_What do you say to that?" _

Her gaze turned to the junior Tech-Com officer's hand that clutched the shift stick. Parts of her wanted to take the calloused hand in hers and intertwine them. Derek turned from the road, and looked at Sarah. She knew she had been caught staring and reached out and grabbed a Glock resting near the stick to cover. She checked the magazine then returned the look. He gave her a reassuring grin and nod. She returned it with a scowl and turned away from him, feeling a calm settle inside her that wasn't there before.

The truck took a sharp turn and slowed to a halt near a ruined foundation of a shack that once belonged to the ramshackle home several yards away. Derek was first out of the car, with his grenade launcher in one hand, and a wood pump tactical shotgun in the other. He walked several paces, observing the area, before he slid the shotgun across the hood, so Sarah could grab it. Without a word he took off to the ruined wall, taking point. Sarah watched him a moment with a nervous clench of her belly.

"Wait, how do we get inside here?" Charlie asked observing the looming building ahead.

"Getting inside isn't the problem." She replied, meeting him in front of the truck with her own observation of her surroundings. Charlie gave her a look that said he wasn't sure what to do next.

After a beat Sarah pulled a pistol from the waist band of her khaki cargo pants. "Try to hit something metal." She handed him the pistol followed by the clip. He took both, glancing at her like she was someone he didn't know. Sarah snatched her shotgun from the hood of the car, and gave Charlie a look that told him that he had now seen the real Sarah. Wordlessly she rushed to catch up with Derek who was sidling the wall.

He stuck his hand out telling her to slow down, she complied, stopping. He took a quick tactical sweep of the open area around the house before continuing forward.

It was at these moments that Sarah questioned if he was taking the team leadership out of pure instinct, or if he was taking point for her protection in case of an ambush. She would rather it be the former, because she absolutely detested the idea of being treated like a fragile princess that needed protecting. There was only one man she would allow to keep her safe and take care of her and he died doing it.

With his back to the wall Derek listened closely to the wooden door of the entrance, sensing no ambush he pulled the door open and rushed inside. Sarah followed closely as his cover as he swept from room-to-room of the rundown building. Both took opposite sides of a doorway, with Derek looking into a large open area that might have been a living room.

"Charlie …?" a scared voice called. Dixon jumped from cover to run to the voice, but was slammed back by Sarah.

"Is someone there?" the voice called again with a sob.

Sarah motioned Derek to check it out. With a sucked in breath he moved into the line of fire and disappeared around a corner.

"Clear!" Derek's voice echoed through the house. Charlie didn't wait for Sarah to clear him; he shoved her pinning arm down and rushed down the corridor. Sarah closed her eyes for a second before following her ex down the hall.

Once inside the large room she came across a turned over chair where a pretty, blond woman sat tied while Derek was busy remedying the situation with a knife. The woman was crying hysterically, bucking to get out. Charlie was kneeling next to her shushing her as he stroked her dirty hair. Sarah walked up to the three observing the scene quietly.

Though it had been eight years to Charlie, it had only been several months since she had been engaged to the man, so when Derek's work was done a small pain stung Sarah's chest when the blond rushed up off the floor and embraced Dixon. Not wanting to see anymore, Sarah took a step back, hearing a snap, and feeling a small pinch to her heel. Looking down she saw that she had stepped on a tossed aside mouse trap.

"What was that?" Derek asked coming next to her. Skillfully Sarah bent her knee and plucked the wooden mouse catcher from its hold on her boot.

"Mousetrap?" she held the object up to her partner with a confused frown. However he was no longer focused on her; there was a look of shock and alarm on his face.

"Sarah …" he said in a concerned voice, taking her arm and turning her to what he was looking at.

A decapitated body hung upside-down, hoisted by a rope, from the aluminum rafters. . From the scene in front of them it appeared as if someone had ripped the head off in a brutal, unclean fashion. Crackling circuits hung from where the head should have been, as synthetic blood leaked from the popping wires.

"He took its head!" Michelle screamed in trauma, sobbing into Charlie's chest. Sarah and Derek both looked at the woman, then each other.

This time it was Sarah who spotted something and turned her partner toward it. On the far wall there were words written in blood.

**A GIFT FOR MY BELOVED **

**WE'LL BE TOGETHER SOON. **

Something about the sentence made Sarah's blood run cold.

"What the hell is going on?" Derek mused to Sarah who unconsciously took a step closer to him. Something told her that it was left there for her.

* * *

_**North Africa**_

A hot wind blew across the sands of a ancient wasteland, carrying dust and sand in whirlwinds where the mountain-like cliffs blocked the scorched air, creating many blistering dirt devils at their base. Amongst the many eroded cliffs one stood out above all others. Into the face of the rocks was carved a sanctuary in the shape of a robed man with a ceremonial sphinx headpiece. An ancient holy place of worship once, now a home and hide-out for a wandering tribe of desert dwellers, mystical and superstitious their old ways were guarded from progress by the unforgiving climate known to many as hell-on-earth.

There was a hole in the cavity of the robed structure where one can look out for many miles of open desert. Inside the stone room, behind the glassless window, two men sat cross-legged in front of a carved wooden table. One of the men was dressed in red robes and a turban that covered everything except slanted, almost-black eyes. Across from him sat a man in his late-twenties; he wore a thread-bare navy-blue t-shirt and black fatigue pants. His feet were covered by worn, muddy-brown motorcycle boots. The young man was tall, and his ruggedly handsome face was covered with thick stubble. A diagonal scar ran across his eyes, ending like a check mark on his cheek. His thick mane of curled, raven hair was grown out and disheveled yet styled. Both men sipped a steamy liquid in brittle china.

"When I was in the trance I saw things … my past, the present, and my future; yet there were things that didn't happen to me that I saw, and places that aren't there in the future." The younger man said, flicking unusually stoic mocha eyes to the crimson clad figure in front of him.

"The conclusion of the trials is supposed to show you the path you must walk on, young warrior. This confusion means only that you have reached a crossroads in your journey." The man spoke with a deep voice that was almost musical. "Tell me, what it that you saw?" he asked inquisitively.

"My grandmother … I was five and sitting in her lap. She was reading me a story in Spanish, 'The Wizard of Oz', except that my grandmother disappeared before I was even conceived, and also we were in the woods, yet the world was destroyed when I was three." The t-shirt clad man frowned sipping the liquid.

"The Thogal is a powerful state of mediation and it is often rumored that one who experiences such a trance is capable of seeing the future." The man said sipping his steaming cup. The raven-haired male watched with a narrowing of his eyes before he spoke.

"I know what is coming in the future …" was all he said, going back to his drink.

There was a pause between the room's occupants.

"May I ask you a question, Young Warrior?" the turban covered figured asked placing his cup down.

"Can I stop you, Ster?" the younger of the two gave a tired pirate grin.

"Why …? Why travel through time and space, brave the desert's rage to subject yourself to such a rigorous mental test? Those who enter the Trials are those who suffer from demonic possession, and look to cleanse their souls?" Ster asked with a puzzled tone.

"I'm not sure about demonic possession, but I did it because I'm afraid." He answered simply.

"Afraid?" the older man tilted his head.

"Both my grandmother and my father … they suffered from burdens that transformed them, and splintered not only their personalities, but their perception of reality. By mastering the Thogal, I can not only keep my sanity intact … but also keep who I am from splitting into different forms in my mind." The man replied with a slurp, finishing his drink.

The red-draped older man chuckled and shook his head. "You are quite an extraordinary man, _**Mr.**_ _**Connor**_ to have survived two weeks of isolation in the blackness of the cave." This time it was Ster who finished the drink.

Setting his cup down, Ster pressed a button and a compartment in the table opened with a shudder. With metallic clinking the man pulled out a leather utility belt with a dented and scared chromed .45 pistol with a black rubber handle holstered inside it.

"Your weapons …" he offered the young man the belt. He nodded and took it. The oldest of the pair got to his knees and stood.

"More tea?" the young soldier asked. The man shook his head at the offer.

"I must make arrangements for your return trip through the desert." He turned to leave.

The younger man clenched his teeth in hatred and with a flick of leather he drew his firearm and blasted the older man in the chest from behind with three deadly shots. Ster turned with a look of horror at the soldier.

"Why!" he wheezed and dropped to the floor with blood oozing from the clean holes in his chest.

The raven-haired man blew the smoke from the pistol barrel and stalked up to the body, looking down upon the motionless face plastered with betrayal.

"How stupid do you think I am?" he spat, pulling the hammer back, aiming at the dead man.

There was a small, evil chuckle that sounded from the body; with a flash the crimson-clad dead man opened his lids , revealing red eyes. "That remains to be seen, Ryan." A female voice with a Scottish brogue answered.

All at once the blood seeping from the wounds turned to mercury, and slithered back through the exit wounds. The martial arts master known only as Ster transformed into a sleek, human mold of mercury before it formed into a sterilized ice-queen-like, attractive female with pale skin and flaming red hair.

"Neat trick … Weaver" Ryan said darkly, moving from the woman.

"Yet, not neat enough to fool Captain Ryan Connor, the Tech-Com hero" She cued adding the last sentence with mocking with a Cheshire grin. "I'm curious, though, as to how you knew it was me?" she asked with a lift of an eyebrow.

Ryan tossed her the cup she was drinking out of. Catching it, she stuck her finger in and traced the lingering herbs of the flavoring.

"You poisoned the tea." She tossed him the glass back. "I wonder what would have happened if the real Master Ster came to meet you?" she asked the officer.

"I think he would have had a hard time getting here with a metal spike through his head, don't you think?" He asked bitterly.

"You're not wrong." Weaver tilted her head.

"What do you want?" he asked darkly after a pause.

"You cut to the chase … just like your mother. I like that." She grinned. The soldier pointed a gun at her again.

"I won't ask again." He warned her. Weaver twitched her head before Liquid metal transformed into a soft haired, browned eyed, angelic beauty dressed in a saintly white gown. The two people shared eye color and skin tone with a generally close resemblance.

"You gonna shoot your Mommy, huh Cowboy?" Cameron asked with an innocent voice.

"Enough with the games!" he warned her behind bared teeth of a deep hatred.

"I came to discuss an opportunity with you." She said staying in her Cameron glamour. Ryan made a disgusted snear before he scoffed at her, pressing the hammer foward.

"I don't make deals with devils." He said quietly, turning his back on Weaver.

"Your parents did. How do you think you got your cybernetic arm and eye?" Weaver asked coming closer. "Your mother sacrificed them to you with my help." Weaver stroked Cameron's silken hair.

"You kidnapped my mother … held her against her will for years. Why would I help a monster?" Ryan shot back picking up his belt.

Weaver quirked an eyebrow at the comment and looked coldly at the soldier. "You think this is easy for me? You killed Savannah in chin when you were fifteen."

"Eye for an eye." He replied smoothly, twirling his pistol like a gunfighter before stuffing it back into the holster.

"Your parents massacred my John Henry before you were born, not to mention your father imprisoned me in a metal box. So the better question is why should I come to you?" she was emotionless, but there was mutual hatred oozing from her cold exterior.

"That's a good question." Ryan didn't back down.

"Because I know despite this little rivalry, we're on the same side of a war, just a part of different factions. I believe we can achieve our goals through cooperation." She explained in a business-woman like manner.

"No" he said simply, the silver buckle on his utility belt clicked loudly when he buckled his weapons to his waist . "I don't work with or for machines … they can't be trusted." He said distractedly looking out at the vast wasteland below.

"You truly have no idea." Turning to a deep feminine voice, she called. "Has Cameron told you how you were conceived?" Her image changed to a beautiful raven-haired, green eyed woman in a silken, emerald gown with a slit in the front holding back cleavage, and exposing a smoothly toned belly.

Ryan ignored Sarah Connor as she sashayed toward him.

"You see, your grandmother, me." She grinned. "She disappeared in prison just before your parents were going to rescue her. The word was that Sarah Connor died in jail, but it was nothing more than a clever Skynet plot. But then you know that, don't you?" Weaver wrapped her arms around the man's chest and pressed her head into his back.

Ryan shrugged out of her hold on him.

"So there sat little orphan John Connor in a black hole of grief. Cameron … she knows that her _purpose in life _is thinking about killing himself, because he didn't want to be separated from his mother. So when she kept the sharp objects away from him … well, he decided to destroy my company's headquarters, he thought it would be suicide. But sadly lady luck was by his side, and her name was Cameron. Your parents went in and destroyed everything I worked so hard to build. They killed my boy without hesitation and in their ignorance John and Cameron Connor took a sledge hammer to the only defenses this poor planet had against Skynet." Sarah sighed in mock sadness.

Ryan said nothing, standing quietly in front of the hellish scenery. Weaver pressed on judging that she still had an audience.

"But that wasn't enough for John; he cursed himself and his fate that he lived through the mission. If he couldn't find a quick way to be with his mother, then he would take the slow route, so night after night he would be in a drunken haze slowly trying to kill his brain. Your mother, she needed to think of something fast or soon John would get what he wanted. So that's when she came across a little sealed file in her CPU called _General Order 66_, it states that in the event of the TOK 715 cover being compromised that she could execute the order to which she would use one of Alison Young's stolen eggs hidden inside her to impregnate herself with John Connor's child, because who would believe a machine could have a baby?" Sarah asked.

"So Cameron put on her silk lingerie and her pout and seduced your father. So the day your mother played dumb and told John that she had gotten accidentally pregnant, John Connor became a changed person. He accepted his love for your mother and grew to love you." Sarah concluded the story, reaching out and caressing Ryan's grown out hair.

"So here you stand, the ultimate and darkest form of a machine's manipulation. You are nothing more than a replacement for a mother whose son mourned her like a lover." Weaver stroked Ryan's hair.

The man folded his arms across his chest. "I'm sure there was a point in that little story, though you are a fan of hearing yourself talk." He shot at the woman, ignoring the chill in his chest from the tale.

"My point is that what I told you is a truth that Cameron didn't even tell your _late _father. I told you in good faith to show you that I'm not here to lie." Weaver explained in Sarah's voice with a seductive edge. Ryan remained pensive ignoring hands tracing circles on his shoulders.

"What would you want in return for this partnership?" Ryan asked. Weaver smiled a Sarah smile.

"I know why you're here; you want to protect Sarah Connor from Skynet, to alter the timeline. So in exchange for my information on Kaliba movements, you give me your vow that you'll keep that psychotic woman on a leash and keep your mother and father away from my company." Weaver announced with a whisper in his ear. The officer didn't respond. "Well for one I can tell you with certainty that Skynet has shifted in thinking and has sent someone back to supervise a new tactic." She said coyly.

"Who?" he turned to the green eyed beauty

"You haven't agreed to anything I set down." Weaver shook her head. Ryan sighed in thought.

With a turn he looked into Sarah's green eyes.

"Deal" he stuck his hand out to her. Weaver gave him a victorious smile, but shook her head at him.

"That's not how I seal it."

Without warning she wrapped her arms around his neck and locked lips with Ryan. A glare wrinkled the handsome man's forehead as he stayed stoic, not returning the kiss from Sarah. Weaver broke the kiss and looked disappointed at her old nemesis.

"Something I said?" she grinned.

"The names of who is on deck for Skynet?" he ignored her quip and pushed on.

"I'll tell you when you get to America; I have an open door policy." She said casually. Ryan gritted his teeth and snatched her by her waist.

"That wasn't the terms of the agreement." He growled.

"What good is a name on dried lips in the sand?" Weaver asked. "Think of me holding back as inspiration for you getting out of the desert alive." She shrugged.

The two locked eyes a moment, and then with a ruffle of silk, Ryan unhanded Weaver. There was a silent pause between them before she pressed her face into Ryan's chest.

"When this is all over I do look forward to settling our differences in a more pleasurable manner." She said with a whimsical sigh.

There was a sound of mechanical wiring and with his left hand Ryan snatched up Sarah by the neck.

"When Skynet's gone, it's going to be me, you, a lava pit and an isotope gun." He threatened in a dark gravelly voice. Weaver smiled.

"Sounds kinky … Sarah does a mean bubbly cheerleader." She whispered, then like ice on a summer day, she disappeared into liquid and slithered out of sight.

There was a pause in the room as the officer closed his eyes and settled the adrenaline in his veins. Ryan took a shaky sigh and looked at the vast dunes of the challenge ahead of him.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_**Alright so I hope I didn't lose anyone …**_

_**To anyone who read Purpose, yeah I know Ryan is supposed to be dead, but … you'll see why he isn't.**_

_**I hope I covered how Cameron can conceive a child well enough.**_

_**The Thogal is a real mental trial in Buddhism, but it's a little more complicated than what I explained. **_

_**So this story is going AU from Mouse Trap but all the non Cromartie stuff will be left in. **_


	2. Family Matters

**Family Matters**

_**4 months later **_

The sun was high over the port of Los Angeles. Its rays kicked off the polluted seawater, as a haze of smog blotted the sun into a strange shimmer high in the sky. On the deck of a ship called _The Seahawk, _a rugged young man with a scarred right eye and a stylish, yet messy, mane of raven curls stood on the portside deck, staring out at the metropolis's skyline with a hardened look, as if painful memories were flashing through his mind. Suddenly, a large roll of money was thrown at his head as it was fired out of cannon. With a trained snap, the young man snatched the roll of cash out of the air with skillful ease.

"Always the seeker." The playful voice of a woman with a thick Israeli accent called to him. The man smiled an empty smile, pocketing the roll into well-worn brown leather, button down coat, with a patch of a broadsword flanked by wings sown on the left sleeve.

The woman was tanned and toned with a smooth olive oil complexion and had long, sun-kissed hair. The hazel-eyed desert rose walked up next to her crewmen of three months. She looked out at the city, then to her handsome peer.

"Never been to L.A. before?" the young Captain asked.

"No, I've spent more than my fair share of time here." He said whimsically. The girl looked at him and frowned.

"What's the problem then?" she asked again. The man scoffed.

"It's just uh … different then when I left." He had a pained look in his gold-flecked brown eyes as he smiled at the irony she would never understand.

She smiled and turned back to the skyline. "It's L.A." she shrugged casually. There was an easy silence between the two before she spoke again, tracing his look.

"Look Phillips … whatever's bothering you … it's not going to be solved on a smuggler's ship." The commander said with sharp perceptive eyes. He nodded at the comment, lounging against the railing, picking at the paint. "I mean don't get me wrong, I would hate to lose my best knife fighter and marksman … but I'm not one to watch someone sink in their sorrow, so you need to look inside yourself." She advised with a spark in her eyes.

"Know thyself, because what else is there to know?" he quoted with a sigh, looking at the water.

"Huh" the young woman gave a pensive face, as if she liked what she heard. "Who told you that?" she tilted her head.

The young man turned to her with a grin. "Sarah Connor"

She turned her head to the side slightly and gave a coy grin. "Sarah Connor … the tech terrorist?" There was pause before she gave a belly laugh at the soldier who joined her and turned back to the city.

"Ah … the people you meet, huh?" she caught her breath with a sigh leaning over the railing.

"You have no idea." He laughed slightly. There a pause of finality between the two.

"You're good fighter and smuggler, _Phillips_." She turned and nodded at the time traveler.

"It's been fun." He stuck out his hand.

"Truly …" she shook it, and then she stood on her toes and traded a small kiss with him. "One for the road." She smiled. He gave her a detached glance and cupped her cheek before he picked up a duffle and walked down the ramp into the port.

* * *

"Why not … it's not like there's going to be a traffic problem getting there."

"I'm not that big on Halloween, Kacy."

"How about the Kiddos … I'm sure John and Cameron would love to go?"

"Kacy …"

"Who can it hurt?"

Sarah had been going back and forth with her neighbor/friend for the past hour about her Halloween party she was doing for the neighborhood. The pregnant lady had been pestering her to come for weeks, and Sarah hadn't budged yet. But when Kacy asked her to temporarily fill-in as a waitress at her father's diner, Sarah knew it was a trap to twist her arm.

The diner wasn't exactly the normal kind, it had a retro 50's theme that was currently covered in Halloween decorations. As if that weren't bad enough, Sarah was required to wear a shortened poodle skirt and white shirt of tight nylon. She hated the big pink bow in her hair as well. Over the years Sarah had worn all sorts of uniforms in jobs she had taken, however when she tried on this uniform at the house, she immediately became the punchline of many jokes. Now she could only imagine that she would be seeing members of her family through her eight-hour shift just to continue the joke.

"It'll only be for like an hour …" the blond pushed from her stool at the bar. Sarah set down a burger basket in front of a portly man in a tan vest and a trucker cap.

"Why are you pushing for us to go?" Sarah sighed, leaning on the counter. Kacy scratched her neck and looked away as if checking to see if anyone she knew was around.

"Look I didn't want to say anything, but some of the other people on our street, they're starting to whisper, you know?" she said quietly.

"_I'm in suburban hell." _

Sarah often chose homes in the city for this very reason. In the city, people kept to themselves and couldn't care less about what others did. But in the suburbs it was almost a hobby for the neighbors to keep tabs on each other in an Olympic style competition of paranoia and nosiness. It was like living under a microscope operated by old women who sneered if you let your "daughter" out in too short of a skirt, or if you live with your "Brother in-law", and oh how she hated the politics of suburbia.

"Ma'am …?" the trucker interrupted Sarah's angry musings. She glared and turned to the out-of-state trucker. "I didn't want tomatoes on the burger." He pointed to the red fruit on his hamburger.

He got a feeling like he had poked a bear, a very beautiful bear, but a bear none-the-less, as Sarah snatched the basket from in front of him and tossed the bun down. She picked the red slices off the burger, jamming the bun back; she slid it to the man.

"Thanks …" he frowned flatly.

Turning back, the raven-haired beauty sighed at the blond who was dipping a french fry in pickle juice. "You're not going to let this go are you?" she lowered her gaze.

"Nope" Kacy ate the fry with a smile.

"Fine …" she relented.

"Yay!" Kacy clapped her hands lightly. Sarah gave her an amused grin.

"Look at it this way, there is going to be a bunch of hot guys dressed in costumes; I swear it's like a fantasy party." She winked.

"I'm good." Sarah scoffed a laugh.

"Oh, come on, you got the most smoking body I've ever seen, and I bet there's a wild woman in there just aching to get out. Plus … it's not like _Derek _is around that much anymore." Kacy shrugged. Sarah turned to the woman darkly as if she had treaded on dangerous ground.

"Kacy phone!" a cook in a chef's hat called from the kitchen.

"All over it!" She replied, seeing the need to get out alive of the situation.

Sarah clenched her jaw as she pulled her cell phone out of her apron pocket.

"Waitress!" the trucker called to Sarah, she put the phone to her ear and gave him a death glare. "Never mind …" he grunted, finding the sugar interesting all of the sudden.

* * *

_She was there, tucked into his arms, safe and asleep. His hand traced the smooth skin of her bare back, stroking her scars tenderly. He kissed her head as she lay naked against him. She was at peace with the world for the moment, and as long as she was, so was he. _

"_Babe …" _

"_Babe …" _

"DEREK!"

Derek Reese shot up from his reclined position on top of a hotel suite's bedcover, and looked around alertly.

"What, what …?" he asked the attractive Asian woman, clothed in her underwear, and under the sheets reading a magazine.

"Your phone is buzzing." Jesse didn't look up from her reading.

Sure enough, his pocket was vibrating. He reached into his blue jeans, and pulled out the phone.

"Hello?" he said shakily still recovering from sleep.

"_**29, October" **_a voice said into the phone

"October 29th" he responded

"_**Where the hell are you?"**_ Sarah asked angrily from the other line.

"Where am I supposed to be?" he asked.

"_**Meet me at the diner, three hours." **_

The phone cut off, and was followed by dial tone. Derek sighed and laid back.

"Who was it?" Jesse flipped the page.

"Who do you think?" He yawned.

Jesse chuckled with scorn. "That woman needs to get laid." She waited for Derek to responded appropriately to her response.

He smiled faintly while a shot of guilt ran through him, as flashes of the woman in his arms somehow matched the woman who had just finished the chewing out he'd received.

"_Reality is over rated." _

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and looked at his mostly undressed girlfriend. "How long was I out?" he grunted sitting up again.

"Well … you ripped my shirt open and slipped off my jogging shorts and you were working your way to my panties … and then I got snores." There was an irritated inflection to the Australian accent.

Derek's face reddened in embarrassment. "Uh … sorry." Was all he said, clearing his throat.

"You were tired …" she shrugged casually, looking at him. He gave a grateful smile at her for sparing him. "I would be to if I had some annoying bitch running me around day and night." she sneered, going back to her magazine.

"Hey!" Derek snapped at her. Jesse slapped the periodical down and looked at him in confusion.

"_Where the hell did that come from?" _

There was a silence in the room as both seemed lost for words.

"Just uh … just watch it, okay." He finally spoke. The scantily clad female brought her knees to her chest and fixed him with a thoughtful look.

"Derek, just because Kyle was in love with her, doesn't mean you have to show undying loyalty." She tilted her head.

Her sentence struck a nerve in Derek that was the equivalent of a root canal. Sarah had, and always will be Kyle's girl, his love, his angel. So was he betraying his brother's memories, was he betraying Kyle by dreaming, by feeling this way about his princess?

"Why don't you come over here … and finish me off?" Jesse smiled seductively, reaching for Derek. Guilt overtook him, and he backed away from her.

"I uh, I need to go." He got up, and walked to the door.

"Really?" she said, getting to her knees.

"Sorry … I just got to go." He grabbed his jacket and exited the hotel room,

* * *

John Connor sat on a diner stool reading the newspaper.

"_Garbage" _

He hated the Los Angeles Times; everything was opinion and not so much news anymore. But either way it was a nice distraction from what had been playing in his head. He had just come from letting Cameron have it for, once again, shadowing him and Riley on their mall trip. He sighed in disappointment at himself, because he had called her names, and said things that earned the cyborg mocking laughter from all of the girls in the dress store she had been using as a stake out. The incident tainted the rest of his and Riley's hang out, and he had decided to go, leaving Riley to herself.

John touched his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He felt so much like an abusive husband these days, publicly crucifying and belittling his protector. All he needed was a white tank top and to slap her around when she brought him dinner. Riley had encouraged his behavior, telling him that he needs to give her a firm hand when it came to his privacy.

However John was starting to feel like he was going way too far in this war of independence with his family. He missed his mother and thier talks; there was a time when they told each other everything. It seemed like a long time ago now, but it wasn't really. After killing Sarcissian, he didn't know what to say to her, he didn't know what to say to himself. He had killed a man, he knew it was for the right reasons, but he couldn't handle the guilt of knowing Sarah had guilt over the incident. He didn't like her knowing that there were no limits to what he would do for her.

That went double for Cameron. She knows he had more than just feelings for her, she knew that he was in love with her, and she had used that against him. Now, after he'd saved her life, she believes that he can't be trusted. He felt so exposed with both people he loved knowing the lengths and his limits. He felt like he was too close for comfort.

All of these things had led to Riley. He didn't know a thing about her, and her him. It was the perfect set up, no strings and no questions, just a running buddy who generally liked him for him. But lately there had been something off about her. He chalked it up to him being paranoid when it came to the women in his life; especially after the incidents on his birthday,. But for some reason he felt the more time he spent with Riley, the more he was drifting away from the people he loved.

"_Why do I have to choose?"_

He gave an exasperated sigh at the situation he was placed in.

"You okay?"

He looked up to see Sarah in her nylon, Mary Sue, fifties uniform. John nodded his head silently.

"Dodgers made a bad trade." He lied showing her the sports page. Sarah frowned, knowing he was lying to her. John lowered his head, pretending to read the paper, and attempted to avoid the hurt expression on her face; the one his five-year-old self had proclaimed his best friend. After a moment Sarah flipped a page on her pad and left, giving her son one last look. John breathed easily when she was gone.

"_I wish there was some sort of sign from my future as to what to do about Cameron." _

His thoughts were interrupted by man who dropped onto the stool next to him. He was tall, with an athletic build, with a designer scruff on a handsome face. He was dressed in blue jeans. A faded black t-shirt was covered by a well-worn, leather button-up jacket with its collar propped up in the back. John glanced at him, then went back to the account of a football game. Not knowing why, he thought fate was going to answer his prayer.

"Hey kid, you know where I am?" the man had a deep, yet youthful voice. John turned to stare into familiar, stoic brown eyes that made him pause. The man twitched an eyebrow at the reaction.

"Malt Shop Diner" he said after a moment.

The twenty -something frowned in small annoyance. "Yeah, thanks, I mean what district?" he growled tiredly.

"Van Nuys" John responded as if the man was clueless.

"Awesome" he said flatly, running his hand through thick, black curls. John observed him a moment, sensing an uneasy tension.

"Hey, you okay buddy?" John asked, though he wasn't sure why he cared.

"Yeah … fine." He said closing his eyes and touching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb the way John usually did.

"Tough morning?" the boy asked, with a small curiosity, spotting a fierce, yet somewhat badass facial scar.

"Tough life" He breathed a scoff.

John let out a commiserating chuckle. "I know the feeling." He sighed.

The man threw a matching pirate grin at him. John felt a sudden kinship to the stranger who was digging in his coat pocket for something. Spotting his mom, John called out to her.

"Hey can I get a coffee?" John asked. Sarah nodded taking a cup and a pot. She placed the mug in front of her son, but he motioned to the man next to him. Sarah frowned and slid it over and poured the distracted man a cup. Smelling it he sipped it a moment.

"Thanks …" he took an almost startled paused, and locked a stare with Sarah, who nodded but seemed just as taken with the him as he was her.

John felt a little awkward sitting watching the stare down that was lasting past the social norm.

"Mom …" John cleared his throat, pulling out some money. Sarah snapped out of the trance and blinked; she smiled softly at the man, and turned to John who handed her two dollars. Then with a cheeky grin he handed the waitress a fifty dollar tip. The private joke the two engaged in suddenly made Sarah's day as she walked away with a happy grin; because after five months she finally saw her baby shine through all the angst and anger. Smiling to himself, John turned to the man who had a weirded out look on his face. He seemed to want to poke John to see if he was actually real. John wasn't sure why but the man looked so familiar.

"_Those eyes, they look just like …" _

"Umm … do we know each other?" John asked, interrupting his own thoughts. The man grunted and looked back at his coffee a bit too quickly.

"Don't think so." He said, avoiding the teens gaze. John frowned at the reaction.

There was a buzz in John's hoody pocket that took his attention. He pulled a cell phone out and flipped it open, reading a text.

**Want to go to a movie?**

**-Riley**

He sighed, looking up at Sarah who was pretending that she wasn't watching him check his phone. He turned back to the man who was drinking his coffee in silence. Those sober, brown eyes stung John's heart as he thought of Cameron.

"Take it easy." John said to the man.

"Yeah" he nodded.

As he left he felt eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. He gazed back at the man who was still slumped over sipping his coffee. Something about him woke an urge to go find Cameron.

* * *

A black sedan drove from the company town of Charm Acres, down a secluded gravel road to a forest with a large house hidden within. The columned, Victorian mansion was guarded by small, out of place woods that gave the location a fairy tale setting. The painted, white home was surrounded by a black, barred fence, softened with shrubs and hedges.

Passing through a gate, the car followed a paved road that ended in a circle in front of the house. In the middle on a small patch of grass, a statue of Aries, the Greek god of war, stood with his sword pointed towards the heavens When the vehicle stopped in front of the entrance, a deathly-pale woman with pin-curled, chocolate-brown hair, clothed in a maroon blazer and matching business skirt, stepped out of the back seat, on to the paved driveway . With purposeful clicks of her heels, Dr. Serena Kogen, walked up the stairs to her mansion. Without missing a beat, the door was opened for her by an elderly gentleman in a penguin style dress suit. The sickly looking woman removed shades that covered sallow, gold-flecked brown eyes and looked to the butler.

"How was he today?" she asked in an elegant, somewhat lisped, English accent. The man turned to his mistress.

"Our guest has taken to the basement cellar as usual, only accepting the company of the beautiful young woman you sent to him." The man also spoke with a refined English accent.

"That will be all Mr. Hammond." She said dismissively.

"Very good, ma'am." He disappeared up a large staircase.

She walked through a large, expensively furnished, sterile white living room . She liked the color white; it was pure, clean and emotionless. It reminded her of her home in Skynet's Eugenics lab. Crossing through an all-white kitchen, she walked to a door between the pantry and the start of a hallway. Opening it, the smell of body odor and decay hit the doctor's nose with force. She had become use to it by now, and without hesitation she walked down the steps into the gloomy darkness of the basement.

Upon hitting the last step, she nearly tripped over the naked body of a beautiful, milky-skinned dead woman with long, smooth raven curls. Serena gave the broken body a curious tilt of her head.

"What was wrong with this one?" Serena sighed with a slight irritation. She turned her gaze to an enormous shadow of a figure sitting in a chair facing a desk. A chrome opera mask sat surrounded by scattered surveillance photos of Sarah Connor.

"She was too frail." The voice was growled as if he'd swallowed several peppers, and held a hint of a mechanical echo. Serena shrugged and continued toward him.

"Darling … you shouldn't spend so much time down here, it's bad for you." She said in a motherly tone. He spun his chair to face her; his head shadowed in the blackness of the basement.

"My father raised me in darkness, so darkness is where I shall remain." He said powerfully. Serena took a visible step back, as if she was being threatened. He said nothing else, simply stared at the sickly woman with crazed, blood-shot bluish-purple eyes that glow in the dark.

After a moment she continued forward, walking beside him and stared at the photos of the beautiful green-eyed woman that littered the entire dank dungeon like subterranean sanctuary. She gave a contemplative sigh, picking up a particular picture of Sarah embracing a young child in front of a bus stop.

"What?" the shadow asked at the sound of her thoughtful breath.

"It's almost been a year, and yet you haven't made a move to take her… why?" She asked. The man tightened his muscles at the questioning of his tactics.

"You simpering fool." He accused the woman darkly. "You're blinded by your arrogance. My father has launched many frontal attacks against the Connors, and yet they remain and the attackers are no more." He chastised in a controlled rage that was deep and murderous. "I will not make the same mistake of my metal brethren. I will wait and study my enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and when their precious family is scattered and decayed, that's when I'll take what's mine." His voice had a dark determination.

"How are you supposed to scatter them if you don't act?" the doctor asked, putting the picture down on the desk.

"I won't have too." He replied.

Serena frowned, puzzled at the monster of a man's line of thought. Samson continued as if sensing her confusion.

"With my father's hunter out of the way, the Connors will feel safe, knowing that there is no one here that knows them. But with safety breeds confidence and with confidence comes recklessness. Soon the seeds of their personal problems will bloom, splitting them apart, spreading them thin." He explained as if it were simple math.

"When will this separation start to happen?" the brunette asked, not seeing what her ward did.

"It already has." He answered with a voice of gratification. "John Connor is slipping from my beloved's grasp. He's rebellious, pressured; little by little he's drifting from his family, with the help of a blond whore, trained by a human traitor. But, more importantly, he's drifting from his protector." There was smugness to his voice.

"It's elementary knowledge that where ever John Connor is, Cameron Connor is not far behind." She protested.

"Yes, but Cameron _**Phillips **_is very much isolated right now, alone with her demons … with no one to reassure her. Soon she'll start dreaming up fearful scenarios in her broken little chip, with a very traumatizing human fear of hurting a man she doesn't even realize she loves … she'll do our job for us." There was sound of wet sloshing of exposed flesh moving as Samson smiled.

"And what of Derek Reese?" She asked.

"He's all lion and no fox, a minor annoyance; that is about to be taken care of as we speak." He growled in pain all of the sudden. There was a sound of a small popping of meat; a rancid liquid began to leak from his face down to his chest. Serena winced and began to search a bag on the desk.

"There're whispers from our international sources that a Tech-Com officer is on his way." She spoke to distract him from the pain, until she could extract from her bag a syringe filled with green liquid.

"Maybe there is, but …" he paused while she injected him, the sudden relief from the pain that came over him made him sigh in pleasure, clearing his head. "He would be ignorant of our plans." He finished.

Serena began tracing the hardened, yet soft, fleshy shoulders of the man.

"Now who's being arrogant?" she teased playfully, massaging him.

"What is there to fear? John Connor is dead and his metal witchate a plasma rifle rather than spend eternity without him." He said dismissively.

"Yet you're forgetting the man who did this to you in the first place … or do you dismiss Ryan Connor as well?" she asked. Serena felt all the enormous muscles under her palms tighten in anger at the mention of the name.

"The Detective is not a problem." He breathed in restraint.

"He's a prodigal martial artist, and he defeated you in combat, if you don't remember." She chastised, touching the man's face which caused him to suck in air of intense pain.

"Only through trickery and deceit, which he inherited from his witch mother." His words cut through the stale air like a knife.

"He fought with his intelligence … a lesson that you seem to have learned." Serena commented in a tone of maternal pride. There was a pause as his muscles contracted in a bottomless pit of rage. There was the sound of more pops, and little rivers of foul smelling ooze ran down his neck.

"If Ryan Connor is here, in this time, in an attempt to once again stand between me and my love …" he sucked in air as if the very thought challenged his existence.

"I'LL BREAK HIM!"

* * *

Outside a strip mall Cameron stood at a window, staring at a passel of little girls in tutus. They wobbled and stumbled as a pretty blond teen in a leotard smiled, helping the kindergarten aged girls form the right ballet positions. Cameron tilted her head at the sight, and observed that the girls would not achieve optimal balance for another several years due to their age and height. A pretty, little brunette girl, who wasn't paying attention, turned her wondering gaze to Cameron. The girl waved at her with a big smile. The older girl mimicked the motion, which only brightened the little ballerina's smile. Their moment was ruined by the blond who came up to the girl and chastised her for not paying attention. Looking up the girl gave a friendly smile to Cameron, followed by a "See what I have to work with?" look. Cameron returned the smile softly before the blond went on her way.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The voice of John Connor called to her. She turned her head to meet his gaze. His eyes weren't focused on her, and he was shifting his weight a little.

"_He's guilty" _

"I was simply watching toddlers attempt to learn the intricacies of the hidden language of the soul." She explained. John gave confused smile at her explanation; he walked up next to her sharing her view of the studio.

"Getting any good?" he asked.

"They all have potential, but I believe the little brunette has the right body type for such a profession as dancing, but she lacks the focus." She gave a human-like sigh of disappointment. John chuckled shaking his head at her. Cameron turned and looked him in the eye.

"I thought you didn't want to see my stupid look of puppy-dog-affection as long as you lived?" She asked in an emotionless voice despite the fact that there was something hurt in her eyes. John bit his lip at his hot words being repeated to him. He looked down in shame and cleared his throat.

"About that …" he spoke up.

"I'm sorry" Cameron said suddenly.

"For what?" John looked up at her in confusion.

"I once again tread on your personal life after I said that I wouldn't … you're right to be angry." She spoke in a sad voice, and then she held out a bag to him. He took it, shell shocked at her sentence.

"What's this?" he asked.

"When you have hurt someone, it's customary to purchase a tight present for them." She replied.

John suddenly got images of a small apartment where Cameron brings him dinner while he's sitting on a couch, he tastes it, and then with a look of disgust he slaps her.

"Cam, I can't take this …" he shook his head in guilt.

"Why not?" She seemed slightly offended.

"Because …" he shifted again. "Because, I'm the one who did the hurting." He spoke with shame in his voice, it was a tone she didn't like to hear from him.

"John …" she said in protest but he held his hand out to stop her.

"I shouldn't have said those thing to you … it was wrong and there is no excuse." He said with the lowering of his head. Then he pulled something out of his hoody pocket.

"I'm sorry" he handed her an object wrapped in purple paper. She tilted her head, and looked at the present.

"What is it?" she asked weighing it in her hands.

John smiled playfully and gave a shrug that made him look like Sarah Connor's son.

"Open it and find out."

Cameron tore open the paper to reveal a pair of brand-new ballet slippers.

"I know you lost your old ones in the house fire, and when I saw you standing out here I thought you might want some new ones." He responded with his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you" she grinned the same grin he received in Red Valley before Cromartie's assault on them. He shrugged humbly. She then turned to the brown bag in his hand. He looked at her, then the package in his hand. Cameron motioned him to open it. With a guilty press of his lips he opened the brown paper bag and extracted a large, sleek-looking, chromed .45 pistol with a rubber grip.

"Wow, this is …" John couldn't find the words to expresses how he was feeling.

"I know you wanted a weapon that was your own, and when I saw it, it reminded me of you." Cameron added with a hopeful look in her normally stoic eyes. John nodded feeling a strange attachment to the weapon already.

"Thanks …" he smiled his trade mark pirate grin. The couple got lost in each other's eyes. Time seemed to stand still as their gazes absorbed every fiber of their beings.

"Hey, Cat Fancy!" A blond in a low-cut tank top and jeans walked toward them. John broke eye contact, and quickly hid Cameron's present. Though she understood the action, it stung her a bit.

"Hey Riley …" he half sighed.

"Way to flatter a girl." She grinned, giving him a playful push. Turning, Riley found Cameron still staring at John. "What's wrong with her?" she whispered loudly.

"Nothing is wrong. John and I were just making conversation." Cameron glared at the girl.

"Sorry, but when John didn't text back, I thought he died or something." She said with nudge John's way.

"You expect every person you text to text back?" Cameron challenged passively.

"If they're smart." The girl tossed an arm around John's shoulder. Cameron balled her fist at the action. She immediately unclenched her fist and feared that she just experienced a glitch.

"I should go." Cameron said quickly. Riley looked pleased at the statement, but John looked stunned with whiplash.

"Hey … you don't have to." John said catching her hand.

Cameron became conflicted with what to do, on one hand she didn't want to leave John alone for his own protection, but on the other, his safety depended on her keeping her distance. She was also letting her judgment be influenced by the strange feeling of euphoria that was coursing through her at John's touch. She ran a diagnostic to find that her systems didn't record any glitches in her chip since she had masqueraded as Allison Young. The incident was a reminder from Skynet's sentient consciousness trapped in her chip that she was a killer and nothing more. Yet, the more moments like this with John, the more she felt like the risk was worth it.

"Okay John." She smiled and nodded. He grinned back at her and returned the nodded.

"Movie then?" Riley snatched John's hand off Cameron's and took it in hers.

"Umm yeah …" he responded.

Not one to be one upped, Cameron locked her arm in Johns earning her a private glare from Riley. As the three teens walked down a yellowed sidewalk, John asked a question.

"Anyone want to see the wizard?"

* * *

"You think he likes his women baking buns?"

Sarah gave Kacy a strange look as the pregnant woman leaned over the counter watching the rugged stranger like a horny teenager.

"Was that weird to say?" she asked Sarah, who made a small gesture with her thumb and index finger. "Uh … if I get a call from his teacher one day, because he's saying strange things in class, I don't think I can punish him." Kacy patted her baby bump with a sigh. Sarah smiled and shook her head.

"Ah … he did it again!" the blond said with an alarmed, happy voice.

"Did what?" Sarah counted her tip money.

"He so looked at you." She said with a smug grin. Sarah looked up at the man who seemed to be absorbed in writing in a weathered, leather bound journal while munching on his third burger basket and going through his fourth soda.

Sarah had to admit that when she poured him his coffee that John had bought him, there was something very familiar about him. There was also something between them that could only be described as a connection of some sort.

"You should ask him to the party." Kacy smiled.

"I'm okay." Sarah frowned.

"Oh come on, he's clearly into you, why not buy a sexy costume and let him defile you?" Kacy gave a raunchy smile and bumped Sarah. She once again gave her friend a weird look.

"Did I say something weird again?" Kacy asked with a frown like she was replaying the sentence in her head.

"I don't think you know how to use _defile_ with the right context." Sarah stated.

"Really …?" Kacy's frown grew. "Jeez, I have been using that word since junior year." She shrugged.

This time Sarah caught the look he gave her. It was passing, but it was defiantly directed at her. Paranoia got the better of her with thoughts of him being a cop or even a machine.

"_There's only one way to find out." _

Seeing that he was low on his soda, Sarah found her opening and approached him, ignoring Kacy's encouraging swat to Sarah's ass. He didn't seem to notice or didn't care that she was looming over him.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked with a charming smile. He stopped writing and looked up at her. There was an uneasy look in his eyes.

"Yeah maybe directions to a … restroom." He grunted like he was going to be sick. She pointed to the back of the restaurant. He nodded and got up walked quickly out of sight.

"Dude got sick stuffing himself with my hamburger recipe … Sarah you got to marry this guy!" Kacy whooped loudly across half the restaurant. She glared at her with and shook her head, suddenly looking at the brown leather book he was writing in. She gave a guilty sigh and read the black ink inside, biting her lip.

**29th October, 2008**

**Personal Entry # 32**

**Had a Cup of coffee just before dawn this morning, on the Seahawk.**

**Now I'm sitting in a diner in Van Nuys thumbing through the old man's journal trying to figure out where to go from here. But reading it seems to be like the empty miles of ocean I've traveled. The memories on the page and in my head … they just seem to linger on and on. And it hurts more than I care to admit.**

**Not to mention that I just saw her again, she looks different, still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She's a tad bit older than I'm use to, but there's no one like her on the planet. Every time I look into those eyes all I see is my ignorance and failure to stop what was coming.**

**If I had known that it would cost mom and dad, I would have done it different. But I've promised myself it will be different this time. As long as I can protect her and keep her safe, there's a happy ending to this lost highway.**

Sarah could feel the sorrow and regret leaking off the ink and into her heart. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, but she could tell that whoever "She" was, he loved her a great deal. Suddenly a hand reached across her torso and the book slammed shut. With a startle she looked into dark eyes in her personal space.

"You angling for a tip?" the man asked flippantly motioning to the journal. A sense of embarrassment reddened Sarah's cheeks at being caught being nosy and how close he had gotten without her noticing it.

"Sorry … didn't mean to eaves drop." She apologized to him. Before he could respond she walked away, wanting to scurry under a rock to hide her embarrassment. He watched her go, eyes lightening with her back to him.

"You know … I could have distracted him if you wanted to go through his stuff." Kacy grinned. Sarah scowled at her, making sure to keep out of sight of the man who went back to flipping through the book.

"_He's some sort of Detective …but not a cop." _

Sarah leaned against the counter in relief at the notion that he wasn't someone out there to get her and her family. He was just genuinely interested in her because he thinks she was beautiful, or she hoped that was the case. There was a small smile that graced her lips, despite her warrioress exterior; it was nice to know she was still one who could turn heads in the room.

Her smile was wiped off her face when Charlie Dixon entered the diner.

* * *

"_That was damn close." _ Ryan thought as he gave a cautious flick of his eyes to Sarah, who was trying to avoid his gaze.

"_If she would have flipped the page …" _

He shuddered at the thought of years of combat and training and he would meet his death at the hands of a Mary Sue waitress. The last sounds he would have heard being golden oldies, at least he thought that's what the really old music was called. After a moment he went back to John's old journal, seeking anything he might find useful in the binder-like diary.

"_Derek's safe house location might be a nice find." _ He huffed, going over old campaign notes and one really disturbing entry about how much his old man loved to stroke Cameron's bare stomach. "_Being in Dad's head is a double-edged sword."_

While hunting for names and dates, he would keep an eye on Sarah, who seemed to be irritated beyond belief at some guy in a blue uniform shirt and black pants. He looked like he was in his mid-forties, buzz cut.

"_Looks like an asshole."_

He turned his gaze down when the two caught him looking, Sarah's face turning red again. Ryan decided to take a break from surveillance as he flipped through the book, wondering were french fries had been his entire life, popping a few in his mouth despite already throwing up.

**15th December, 2022**

**Personal Entry # 7 **

**Where could Weaver have taken Cameron? **

**It's coming up on two years since I took Cowboy on the search with me. I probably should have left him with Lauren and Martin, but Cameron's his mother and if I didn't take him with me, then he probably would have gone to look for her on his own. **

**Genetics are a bitch.**

**But the further I chase their trail into the fringes and frontiers, the more I feel I'm losing myself. I can't give up on my love, yet if I'm not there to lead humanity, then Skynet wins. **

**At night when Cowboy's asleep, Mom comes to me like an angel out of the dark jungle, she tells me it's time to let Cameron go and move on. **

"**People matter, they're all that matter, and Cameron isn't people, John." **

**Maybe Mom's spirit is right, but then she isn't real, a figment of imagination. Yet her touch is real and her warmth is human when I hold her in my arms.**

**God … **

**If it wasn't for Cowboy's million questions and banter I think I might lose my mind. **

"Huh" Ryan popped another fry in his mouth, contemplating that time of his life.

Chasing cold trail after cold trail in the rainforests of Central America, hoping the next track, next clue would lead to his mother. He went rigid as he remembered watching each busted lead slowly break his father mentally. "_No Child should watch their parent slowly lose their mind." _ He ate another fry bitterly mulling over the memories swirling in his head.

A figure dropped in the stool next to him. Ryan ignored it and flipped a page scanning over the content; he could feel someone staring at him. He turned to find the man who had been talking to Sarah sizing him up from a stool over.

"Can I help you?" he asked dismissively.

"Couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be very keen on watching Sarah." The man didn't seem appreciate the soldier's tone.

"Why, you fishing for a date _sun beam_?" Ryan replied arrogantly, taking as much of an immediate dislike to the man as he had him.

Charlie clenched his jaw at the punk youth. "You know … she's not much for arrogant jerks." Dixon responded to him. Ryan scoffed at the older man.

"Well, looks like we have more in common then you thought." He slapped the paramedic's chest in a mock friendly motion. There was a fire in the weekend biker's eyes as the younger man returned to his book.

"You're a real piece of work you know that, kid." He said with an angry huff.

"I'll pass the sentiments to mom and dad." He said without looking up. Another presence made itself known from behind the counter.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked forcefully. Charlie shifted uncomfortably, while Ryan just seemed amused.

"Well either _Fuzzy's _in love or he's trying to play matchmaker." Ryan replied easily with a shrug. Sarah turned an angry glare at Charlie, who seemed very unhappy with the officer's new nickname for him. There was a silent moment before she unceremoniously dumped a brown to-go bag on the counter.

"You know where the door is." She addressed the EMS coldly. Charlie took the bag and, with one last sour look at the young man, he left. There was a beat of silence as Sarah paused with a conflicted hurt expression on her face. Ryan looked at her with a wince of sympathy at her pained eyes.

"I miss him already." he sighed sarcastically.

"Oh …" Sarah ran a hand thru her hair. "I'm sorry about that." She apologized.

"So … what was _that_ about?" Ryan asked, stopping his mimicking of the same inherited personal tick. Sarah shot him a look that said it was none of his business.

"Huh, I seem to remember a certain waitress nosing through my journal …" he gave her a poignant look. Sarah frowned at him, but relented.

"He's my ex-fiancé … his wife left him three months ago, so now he thinks he's seen the light when it comes to us." She shook her head at the explanation, as if the thought of the situation was stressful to her heart.

"Don't feel the same?" Ryan lifted in eyebrow.

"It's not that …" Sarah shifted. "It's sort of like I have two paths in front of me, each from different parts of my life and now I'm forced to choose." She shrugged playing with a sugar packet container.

"You got a preference?' Ryan asked.

"I'm not sure … Charlie is the safe bet, he loves me, loves my son, but he's not suitable for the life we lead …" Sarah paused, stuck her hands out and looked up in confusion. Ryan chuckled at her goofy gesture.

"Sounds to me like you're holding Sun Beam at arm's length, but you're waiting on someone else." He gave her a Cheshire grin. Sarah gave him a look that said he hit the nail on the head.

"Maybe …" Sarah sighed giving another conflicted face into space.

"In the end … it's whoever is willing to go the extra mile for you and your boy. That's who deserves you." He toasted her with a small smile, and downed the last of his soda.

Her face lightened with and a grateful smile graced her lips as she watched him. It made her feel good to every once in a while to talk to someone about her problems and receive advice. It took less than a couple of seconds before she realized that she had just opened up to a complete stranger about a very private problem. There was something about the brown eyed man that projected a sense of deep caring for her that made her feel something warm inside, but also suspicion at why he cared so much.

The diner door opened followed by a familiar voice that announced the arrival of a three people.

"I'm not a soccer mom and I'm sure as hell not you two's limo driver!" Derek chastised the two teens he was opening the door for.

"Whatever" John scoffed in irritation at his uncle's ranting.

Sarah moved off her musing and went to her family.

"What is it?" She sighed at the soldier.

"Derek is angered because we needed a ride from the movie theaters; I believe he shares a stereotypical male fear of domestication." Cameron responded with a small shared irritation at the ranting.

"And how." John joined in , teasing the older man with a smug grin at his reddening face. Derek looked back and forth between the teens and scoffed.

"Shut up" he growled, and slinked away to talk to Sarah.

John went back to the spot he'd been sitting an hour ago to find Ryan still there.

"You still here?" John asked with a friendly chuckle. Ryan nodded at him as John sat on the stool next him.

"Just trying to get some bearings here." he replied closing the journal.

"Yeah, you seemed a little rough around the edges earlier." John shrugged.

"More than a little." Ryan breathed, looking at him in the same sort of weird look that he had when John left. There was an awkward pause between the two before each looked the other way.

"_Oh shit!" _ Ryan cursed inwardly when he saw an extremely beautiful girl in a blue jean mini-skirt and a black tank top walk purposefully toward the Connor males. Unlike John and Sarah, Ryan knew it wouldn't take his future mom long to not only identify his similarities to John, but match his cybernetic arm and eye with her own. When the angelic beauty strayed toward them, Ryan turned his head down avoiding eye contact with her.

"You have a friend?" Cameron asked John turning toward the slumped figure. John felt weird at the way she asked the question but decided to answer anyway.

"Uh … sort of, we kind of had several conversations." He offered, hoping Ryan would jump in. He didn't.

Cameron tilted her head at the man, unable to get a threat assessment of him. She shifted closer to him. He responded by getting lower. Cameron scowled in curiosity at the action. There was something familiar about the man that interested her, yet when she tried to scan him, her identification software became jammed. She tried over and over again only to meet error after error. Cameron failed to notice the small blue glow from Ryan's right eye as he jammed his mother's scanners. Though this tactic generally didn't work on other machines, because the two shared the same cybernetics and neural networks, it created a great interference between them.

"Cameron …" John hissed, as she stared with determination at the man who was trying hard to ignore her. She turned from her internal battle towards John who was giving her his trade mark "Quit acting like a freak." look. With a troubled press of her lips she broke the conflict and gave a very human sigh.

"I'm not going!" Derek announced out loud, trying to walk away from Sarah from behind the counter. Then with an avenging force she slammed Derek's retreating form down on the counter.

"You are not making me go to this alone … you hear me! You are coming with me and that's final!" she growled dangerously, pinning him to the malt shop bar.

"What's going on?" John gave an embarrassed sigh at his parental figures who seemed to treat all thier spats like high school dramas.

"_We're_, going to Kacy's Halloween party!" Sarah announced to her son, putting more pressure on her roommates head. Derek shifted his gaze to John with a look of vengeance.

"If I have to come so do they." Derek demanded motioning to the two teens.

"Oh … no, I'm not going to that thing." John shook his head at the woman who raised him.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe there was a choice in this." Sarah flicked commanding eyes to her family.

There was a sad resignation from all of them when they realized that there was no getting out of this. That was, except for Cameron, who was under the impression from their reaction that this "Halloween" was a suicide mission. And that meant that John's safety was now more important than ever.

Their bickering was interrupted by Kacy, who had arrived with Sarah's pay for her one day of service.

"Thanks a lot for your help today Sarah, it's too bad you were only a one day temp …" Kacy sighed slipping the check into Sarah's tip pouch while the woman still had her roomy pinned to the bar with her forearm..

Seeing that she once again gotten her way, Sarah released Derek and straightened her skirt. She motioned all of her family out of the restaurant. Everyone got up and left with goodbyes to an amused Kacy, who always loved to watch her favorite reality show "Sarah and Derek: The Real life odd couple"

Derek lingered behind, rubbing the side of his face. He however paused at the young man on the stool. There were no words, just a cocky grin and a small salute toward the lieutenant, but before he could respond Sarah tugged Derek out the door.

There was an affectionate smile on the pregnant woman's face, turning to the officer on the stool she sighed.

"I love those guys." She grinned.

"Nothing is ever dull it seems." Ryan chuckled with relief that they were gone.

"So …" the blond gave a sly grin as a plan formulated in her head to help her friend out.

"You want to come to a party?"

A bald man in a silk suit sat on the hood of a black sedan. His black shades glared in the sun as he flipped a knife in skillful play. His eyes narrowed and a sadistic smile spread over his lips as he watched a seemingly close knit family. Watching Derek Reese slip into the driver's seat of a Ram pickup, he caught his knife in a ready position


	3. Monster Mash

**So hey!**

**Here is chapter three … or two if you count that sort of thing. **

**So this one sort of reminded me of a chapter of Sarah Town … but I think that I'm just giving a light feeling until the angst begins. **

* * *

**Monster Mash**

**August 15th, 2023**

**Personal Entry # 45**

**A home. A brick house on the edge of a cliff face overlooking the ruins of a city is deathly silent where a family once lived. I'm a stranger in a home that I used to know. A home I've not forgotten. **

**Nothing's changed here, there's still a too-small bed that I used to fall out of when I slept. **

**I've spent most of my time in Mom's old room. I feel like there's so much I never told her. So much I should have said to her. Maybe she knows now that she's up there watching, but it's still hard to swallow, even thirteen years later. **

**There is still one room that I can't go inside. Every time I approach the doorway I see her in that white sundress, in her ballet slippers, dancing in front of her mirror. Then my heart clenches, and I slam the door shut. **

**I burned the damn place to the ground. **

"Huh"

Ryan sat on a worktable in a large family garage, reading General John Connor's personal journal, and munching on a large bag of peanut butter M&Ms. They had been left in a mini-fridge of an observation station in an underground tunnel beneath the small, attractive company-town of Charm Acres. Several feet in front of him sat a sleek, upgraded street motorcycle painted gun metal black. On the handle a matching helmet hung with a tinted visor and two blue streaks across the top.

Ryan turned the page and popped another handful of shelled candy in his mouth. At a thud from outside the building, he narrowed his mocha eyes and slipped a small plastic container into his inner jacket pocket.

* * *

"Fucking paperboy!"

"Zoë!"

"Oh, come on Mom, I mean really! Is it too hard to expect the little shit to throw the damn newspaper in the front yard?

"Zoë McCarthy … you use that language again and I'm going to wear that ass out!"

"Now who's cussing?"

"… Get the paper"

The screen door opened to a rather nice house, and a straight haired brunette in red short shorts and a white spaghetti strap tank top walked out into the dawn. She gave an annoyed sigh and padded barefoot through the grass to the plastic-covered, thick roll of paper. Picking it up she looked over it to find a boot print smearing the newspaper flat.

A creaking sound complemented a shadow that was inching around Zoë's father's garage toward the entrance. The man was balding, with a buzzard like face. He was in the Desert Canyon Heating and Air uniform that she was getting tired of seeing.

"Mr. Winston?" she gave a puzzled frown. "What are you doing in our yard?" she asked her family's friend. The older man shushed her and pulled a large caliber pistol from behind his pants.

"Baby girl, go back in inside!" The girl looked up at a tree to find a man with long hair and a beard perched on a branch.

"Daddy what are you doing up there?" she asked starting to fear her father's tone and his coworker's gun.

"It's alright Baby … just go back inside with your Mother." He consoled the scared teen. Zoë nodded and turned to leave when the sound of an engine roared to life.

"Son of a bitch" That was all Ed Winston could get out as a black street racing motorcycle plowed through the McCarthy's garage door, sending splinters in dozens of directions. The bike torqued as it swerved, just missing Zoë.

The driver of the bike was clad in a brown leather jacket and blue jeans tucked into mud brown motorcycle boots. In the male driver's effort to avoid hitting the girl, he put himself directly under the branch that George McCarthy was sitting on. Armed with a piano wire, the long haired man jumped off the tree and onto the back of the motorcycle. George grunted in pain at what the landing did to his testicles, which was a mistake, as he alerted the bike's owner to his presence.

Working quickly, George tried to wrap the piano wire around the cyclist's neck. In response the rider tossed his helmet clad head back into the man's face, and with a sharp turn onto the asphalt of the street, he tossed off George who growled in pain as the ground tore clothing and skin. Zoë ran to her father's aid as they both watched the sleek cycle disappear into the early dawn. Running out from the backyard Winston looked red faced and murderously angry.

"Did he get Fisher's package?" George grunted.

"Yeah; and not only that" Ed gritted.

"Damn … what else?" he responded.

The buzzard-like man turned an empty Halloween decorated candy bag over.

"Slick bastard ate all our M&M's!"

* * *

A black Dodge Ram moved through the heavy LA traffic on its way down the highway.

"What exactly are we doing again?" Derek asked from the driver's seat.

The beautiful woman in a soft leather waist jacket in the passenger's seat glared at him, brushing some stray locks from her mountain of long, raven curls out of her eyes.

"We're having a family day …" she replied, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Family day?" a teenage girl in tight jeans, tank top and purple jacket frowned from the back seat.

"Yeah, it's where Mom uses the excuse of bonding to keep tabs on us." John answered Cameron with a sigh, pulling out his phone from his hooded jacket pocket and began to surf the internet. Sarah pursed her lips at the explanation and gave an angry scowl at all of the agreeing faces around her.

"Would it kill you to spend time with your family?" she gave an exasperated sigh. Though it was meant for everyone, John couldn't help but feel as if he was the one she was meaning to address.

"You never know …" Derek shot Cameron a look from the rear view mirror. She merely tilted her head at the comment.

"Not today Derek" Sarah sighed, looking at a happy family in the car next to them, with a mother and father and two small children who were laughing at something the mother had said. There was a sad longing on her face, and she touched the window lightly.

Flicking his eyes to Sarah, a pang of guilt rushed through Derek and his face lightened at seeing a tender moment of weakness from a mother who only wanted to feel something normal for once. Derek turned his eyes to the road before speaking.

"So … what's on the agenda today?"

Sarah took her eyes from the happy family and looked back toward the man with a light expression. She wasn't stupid; she knew he had seen her moment of weakness. There was a part of her that wanted to inform the future soldier that she didn't want any of his sympathy. But another part, a female part of her, felt warmth that he was being understanding.

"Somewhere to eat breakfast would be nice." She answered looking back to see that John was sharing his phone with Cameron as the two watched something on its screen.

"Oh my god!"

John looked disgusted and partly horrified. Cameron had a half confused, half thoughtful look on her angelic face.

"What is the point of the two girls and the cup?" she asked. John squinted and shook his head at her.

"What are you looking at?" Sarah asked turning to face them. In a quick action the two teens circled the wagons, bumping shoulders and hiding the phone.

"Just watching something Derek sent John." Cameron answered.

Sarah turned to Derek who was shaking his head in an attempt to coach the teens to lie. Catching hardened green eyes he stayed stoic. She did not like being out of the loop, or secrets. Sarah glared at her family.

"John, give me the phone." She demanded.

John looked horrified and turned to Derek who was once again shaking his head frantically. Sarah snapped hers toward him to which he attempted to appear he was trying to pop his neck.

"John!" she snapped at the young man. He flinched at the harsh tone and looked panicked with indecision. Suddenly, Cameron turned her head to the back window in alarm, and Derek tensed at something in the side view mirror. Catching on Sarah turned to Derek.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Motorcycle weaving toward us … fast"

Immediately Sarah extracted a pistol out of a glove box and pulled the slide back. With a loud vroom a black and brown blur passed them without slowing down. No more than several seconds later a second motorcycle with a rider in all black gave chase, zooming by on their other side. There was a collective sigh of relief from all in the cab of the truck.

"Street Racers …" Derek announced slumping back in his seat.

Sarah's hands trembled with adrenaline as she placed the Glock back into the glove box. Seeing the shaking, Derek grabbed Sarah's left hand. She immediately pulled out, but with an annoyed huff he snatched it back and squeezed lightly. Then like magic the shaking disappeared. With a surprised face she looked up at Derek who had a knowing grin.

"Old nerve trick Kyle taught me."

Sarah smiled fondly and let her hand linger in his.

"It's uh cool now … Cameron" John's voice echoed through the cab causing an immediate withdraw from both parties.

Turning back Sarah found Cameron in John's lap with her body enveloping his in a protective hug. John's arms were around the girl's waist; their faces inches apart. Sarah could tell that there was something about the embrace that was past the protection excuse.

"Cameron!" Two adult voices called harshly.

The cyborg gave one last gaze into nervous green eyes before she slid off John and back into her seat, leaving him clammy and breathless. Both Sarah and Derek shared angry looks before launching the truck into an awkward silence. After several minutes of quiet Sarah turned back to John with a determined face.

"So how 'bout that phone?"

The diner was full of people. There was always a large rush of beach goers for breakfast at the Santa Monica Pier. A beautiful waitress with shiny, blond hair and amazing bone structure weaved thru crowded tables and past a family of four. Only one person eating from the plate in front of him. Derek looked up from his bacon at John and Sarah, who stared at their pancakes with disturbed faces.

"I told you specifically, one not to let the machine see it and two, not to watch it before a meal." He sighed at John before going back to his food.

Cameron downed her second glass of chocolate milk before looking at her charge next to her, then his food. "You should eat …" she said sliding John's food toward him. He sighed longingly at her comment.

"I don't think I can … ever again." John wrinkled his nose.

"I hear that." Sarah commiserated with her son poking at the bare stack of cakes in front of her. Derek rolled his eyes to the sky at them, before going back to his hot meal. At the comment Cameron frowned then took John's hand a moment. The action caused him to go rigid, and with a nervous gulp he turned to look at her.

"For me?" she asked in an innocently sweet voice. There were just too many emotions to fight as he broke a small smile at her. She returned his with toothy one that looked genuine.

"Hey Cameron!" Sarah broke the moment. "Why don't you get us some …" Sarah paused giving a side frown, taking her fork and hooked it to Derek's who was silently advancing towards her untouched breakfast. "Syrup" she finished.

"There is a waitress for that." John protested. Sarah glared at the continued hand holding.

"She isn't eating, might as well make herself useful." She bit back. There was tense silence between the two Connors before Cameron stood.

"It's okay John …" she remarked with a smile before letting go of his hand and walking away.

As he watched her, he couldn't help but feel like he had just been manipulated again. John wasn't stupid; he knew she used her wiles to get him to do what she wanted. John couldn't help but feel angry at the notion of her using his feelings against him, yet; at the same time, he couldn't help but question what separated her from any other teenage girl.

"For God's sake Reese, Judgment Day isn't for another three years … there's time for the final meal." Sarah commented, scooting her plate away from him.

"Hey, if you think that I'm going to let you waste food, than you have another thing coming." He shot back.

John marveled at how the two most serious people he knew could resort to the most immature ways of handling problems, shaking his head at the two who were now clashing forks like swords, unaware how they look to their peers.

"_Yep … I'm raising myself." _

John turned to find Cameron. His breath was taken away when his eyes found the beautiful girl standing next to a harried career woman. She was searching a large duffle bag while Cameron held a baby boy in her arms. The baby seemed quite taken with the metallic snaps of her motorcycle jacket. Cameron had an innocent look on her face as she held the baby gently. There was a moment were the sun shined on her, giving her an ethereal glow, as she gave a faint smile to the child. Suddenly, like a divine shot in the dark, John felt like he was being shown a scene from his future.

* * *

_It was in the middle of the night in a secluded patch of woods, the last which hadn't been touched by Skynet's mechanical wrath for nature._ _The soft, mournful glow from the moon and stars gave sufficient light for the lone young man as he placed the last log upon a funeral pyre. _

_There wasn't a sound or soul in sight as he gave an emotionally pained look at a handsome, pale man in threadbare and wrinkled military fatigues. His once green eyes where now grayed and dead. His spiked hair was a shade lighter and a brutal facial scar sunk a little deeper into his thinned face. _

_The young man in his early-twenties cleared his throat, shook his head and walked to another body lying next to a tree. If there was ever was such a thing as a dead angel, then Ryan Connor's leather jacket was covering her like a blanket. He took a knee next to the body._

_Unlike his father, who was aged with scars and stress. His mother hadn't changed since the day the lovers had met in New Mexico. Still beautiful and perfect, Ryan let out an emotional shaky sniffle as he ran a hand over her smooth cheek. However he stopped himself and pressed a closed fist to his nose and sighed. After another clearing of his throat he gently pulled off the jacket shroud and slid it on. _

_Cameron Connor was dressed in the white sun dress that her husband had kept for twenty-two years, covered by a purple leather jacket and worn ballet slippers on her feet. With a strained growl, Ryan lifted her off the ground and with gentle care he carried her like a princess to the pyre where he carefully placed her next to her soul mate. He smoothed the dress where it wrinkled. _

_After a moment of gazing upon the two bodies laying upon the flat surface of the pyre, Ryan pulled a wedding ring out of his coat pocket. It was a simple gold band with a single diamond on it. Gently picking up Cameron's hand, he slipped on the perfectly fittied piece of jewelry. He held the hand up a moment longer and pressed it to his face, closing his eyes as he savored the contact. Another moment passed before he placed the hand down and intertwined it with John's so that both wedding rings were touching. He sadly showered the two with a white powder from an aluminum can. With the last of his work done, Ryan loomed over the lovers. _

"_I uh … I'm not sure what to say to you anymore?" he sniffled. "I messed up and … I'm not sure how to make it right?" he sobbed for a moment, taking in all the mistakes he had made in the last year. After a moment and with a strong sniffle he composed himself. "But I will … I'm not sure how … but I'll make this right, I swear." He gritted his teeth to hold back emotion. Then he pulled a sleek, chromed .45 pistol from a holster on his side. It had scars and nicks from twenty years of use on it, but it was still reliable to a fault. _

"_Sorry dad … I know you wanted to be buried with this thing … but I still need it, so I hope you don't mind if I take it with me?" he showed the former leader of the Resistance the weapon before holstering it. Without another word he stepped down and put some distance between them. With one last hard look at the couple he pulled a flare out of his inner coat pocket. _

"_I hope you guys are off having that picnic that you always dreamed of going on …" Ryan gave a broken smile and popped the cap of the flare. Then with a little hesitation, he tossed it on to the thermite coated wood on the bottom of the pyre. _

_Several miles away million,s of people were mourning an empty casket with a large funeral precession and claims of heroism of one of the greatest men in world history. While, alone in the woods, a son stood and watched flames consume his father, a modern Rome,o and his mother, John Connor's Juliet, as the smoke billowed into the sky as if touching the lingering blue moon above. _

There was a stray tear in Ryan's left eye as he watched Cameron from his spot at the diner bar counter as she held a squishy faced baby boy. He had cursed when he first saw his future family enter the restaurant, wondering if he was a magnet to them. And, what he was looking at now was something that made him wish that he just would've gone to Denny's.

He watched her return the baby to it's mother, and walk in her trade mark horse like gait, back to the table where the rest of the family was. Ryan held up a plasma burnt, and half broken Terminator chip. He studied it in pensive sadness for several minutes, remembering his mother and her smile. Then he sighed and pocketed the TOK chip. With a swivel he turned back to the counter where he stuck a mouthful of pancakes in his mouth before downing his second glass of chocolate milk.

"Careful … you might get one wicked sugar high." A singsong, southern accent called to him. Looking up he saw a blond waitress in a slightly revealing uniform that he had been flirting with on and off, sashay up to him from behind the counter.

"Oh yeah, well with the way this morning is going I might need it." Ryan responded clearing the tear from his eye before grinning at her.

She bent over the counter and jutted her chest out to him in a flirty manner. "I got an idea about how you can use it to our mutual advantage." She winked. He lifted an eyebrow at the come on.

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves aren't we?" He asked motioning to a fry cook who looked ready to play the xylophone with Ryan's spine. She turned and gave a sly smile at him.

"He's just a … concerned friend." She responded to his query, turning back. Getting closer to her, Ryan observed that the cook was a much bigger man up close.

"You know … I think you forgot to connect the word "boy" to friend." He said in a low voice. She got even closer, their lips almost touching.

"You must be the only man in this town who still cares about that sort of thing." she huffed playfully.

"Call me old fashion." He gave her a pirate grin.

"I wouldn't worry anyway … let's just say he's a longtime admirer." She tried to close the gap between them.

Just then the diner door opened and a pair of men in gray jumpsuits walked in. One had a beard and long hair, and one was balding with a buzzard face.

"_Of course now is when they would come." _

The waitress's lips caught his cheek as he stared at the men. He reached for the rubber grip of his chrome pistol just as a cute little brunette in a sundress ran by his stool, being pursued by an even younger little boy in a red T-shirt.

"_Damn" _

He wasn't too thrilled with the idea of engaging the two in hand-to-hand, especially if they had no qualms about opening fire in a restaurant, from his experience with Grays, they seemed quite content with killing children. Then an idea hit him. He turned to the cook, who was past the boiling point at seeing the waitress kissing another man's cheek. Reaching into his pocket he put a fifty in the blond's hand.

She gave him a curious look then chuckled at him with a shake of her head. "Baby … I'm giving it away for free." She motioned to her breasts. Ryan laughed at the comment and grinned.

"That's not for sex … you said you wanted to be an actress right?"

"Yeah …"

"Well the fifty is for acting out a little scene I just wrote."

* * *

"How many of those are you going to drink?" Sarah asked while chewing on some pancakes.

Cameron looked at the collection of empty glasses coated with chocolate milk. She got lost in thought a moment.

"I find the taste intriguing …" she looked inside the glass, swishing the last of the milk of her fifth glass.

"I hope that doesn't go to your head … the last thing we need is a machine on a sugar high from hell …" Derek commented cutting a sliver of Sarah's pancakes that he was helping her eat. John snorted at the thought of his protector bouncing off the walls.

"Sugar high?" Cameron questioned them curiously.

There was a collective groan from the family. Derek shook his head, while John gave her an endearing smile. Sarah, however, became entranced by a man whose eyes were searching the tables. He had a gray uniform with a name tag that said Winston. Sarah felt dread settle in her chest. Something she hadn't felt since that night at Tech-Noir, when she had looked into the Terminator's eyes as he raised his gun to kill her. The man's eyes looked cold, and when they fell on her there was a spark in them that made her blood run cold. It was as if he had seen something interesting in her that he wanted. The man froze in place letting his longhaired partner pass him as he seemed taken with Sarah.

"Hey, you alright?"

She turned to Derek who seemed to catch on to her sudden nervous aura. She wanted to answer but she seemed to get lost in his stare. There was a safety in it that she couldn't help but hate. She had to be vigilant, always ready for danger, for John. Safety was a luxury that she couldn't afford and every time she felt it, Sarah couldn't allow herself to bask in it long. Maybe that's why she couldn't stand being around Derek, and at the same time why she couldn't be without him.

"I'm fine …" She gave him a scowl that demanded that he mind his own business.

"YOU'RE SUCH A DOUCHEBAG!"

The sound of a tray contacting with a head sounded through the diner. With amused looks the Connors turned their heads to the scene of their pretty blond waitress slamming a tray into the head of the buzzard faced man's partner over and over with a vengeance while he was laid out on the ground. Winston moved to intercept, grabbing the tray from the woman. The longhaired man stood up covered with orange juice and syrup and in a rage raised an arm to backhand the blond.

"You dirty Bitch!" he yelled.

"OH HELL NA!" A man with the height of 6'6 and 300 pounds, who looked more like a football player than a fry cook, rushed at the two men in a sprint that could surely knock down an elephant. He clothes-lined both men and started barrage of punches on the long haired man.

Through the chaos and commotion of the fight it was only Cameron who noticed a familiar looking raven haired man rush out of the diner with the waitress following. She observed the two kiss outside before he disappeared out of Cameron's site. With a curious frown she turned back to the fight.

"We need to go …" John said with a tug at Cameron wrist. Turning, she found Derek and Sarah rushing toward an exit with John leading Cameron to the door that Sarah was now holding open for them. With Cameron through the door John wrapped an arm around Sarah's waist and ushered her out.

"That was strange." Derek broke the silence in the cab of the truck.

"It wouldn't be Santa Monica without a little drama somewhere." John said with a sigh as he drove.

"Then what would it be if there wasn't?" Cameron asked from the back seat. Her question was ignored.

John looked at Sarah from the rearview mirror. She seemed a little shaken and there was definitely something troubling in her eyes as she leaned into the door, looking out the side window.

"Something wrong?" John asked.

Sarah didn't answer. He turned to Derek with a worried look.

"Hey you alive back there?" Derek called. Sarah tossed an annoyed glare his way.

"Thanks" he responded to John for forcing him to get scorched by Sarah Connor's silent wrath, of him butting into her private time.

When the Ram screeched to a halt at a stop light, a black motorcycle pulled up next to them. The rider braced his motorcycle boots to the ground for balance and looked around.

"Hey isn't that the motorcycle from earlier?" John asked. Everyone turned to look at the brown jacketed individual.

"Yes … he was also the person those men from the diner were after." Cameron added

"How do you know that?" Sarah finally spoke.

"He slipped out the back with the waitress who hit the man. It most likely was a distraction so that he wouldn't be seen." Cameron answered.

Sarah looked at the man seeing something familiar about the jacket he was wearing. The figure observed the area before stopping at the four stares he was receiving. Luckily Ryan's shocked nervous face was shielded by a tinted visor.

From his rearview mirror he saw a utility van with a Desert Canyon logo speeding toward him. With a cocky two finger salute to his suspicious family; he used his foot to turn his motorcycle 180 degrees, and with a rev of his engine, he took off down the opposite side of the road, performing a taunting wheelie as he passed the two men. The van tried to turn on a dime to pursue, but in the process they tipped the clunky vehicle over.

There was an inquisitive side of Sarah that wanted to know what that was about, but on the other hand she knew begrudgingly that not all violence in L.A. was perpetrated by machines, and the less she knew the better. So when the light turned green John continued on course toward downtown.

* * *

"You can't be serious?"

That was what Derek sighed as he stood at an entrance to a Halloween warehouse store.

"Look … we need costumes." John said with a poignant stare at the future soldier. John was ready to confront his mother with an argument when he saw genuine amusement in her as she crossed her arms and smiled at the surroundings.

"Why do _we _need costumes?" the older man groaned.

"Because, it took a lot of effort to deter Kacy from joining us today; so that we would choose some" John answered.

Derek wanted so bad to find an excuse not to go to that party tomorrow, but there was a certain warrioress that would kill him if he made her go solo to this thing.

"Kill me" Derek sighed seeing that there was no way out. In the background Cameron looked like the machine equivalent of a little girl on Christmas morning at the soldiers comment.

"Expression" Sarah eyed the girl warningly. Cameron shifted her jaw in a small hint of disappointment.

"Let's get this over with." John sighed back in irritation at Derek's attitude.

"Meet back in an hour." Sarah commanded to John who was already wandering away. He responded by waving at her from behind in acknowledgment. "And get something for Girlie that's normal!" she called again, this time John stuck his fist in the air as he turned the corner. She shook her head with a smile and looked around at the entrance of the store, seeing funny hats that went to costumes and small decorations.

"Shall we?" Derek bumped her shoulder. She turned to him with a vague smile and the two adults wandered the opposite direction of their wards.

Amongst the crowd a large Latino man with a distinguished mustache and goatee and dressed in a black dress shirt with white sports jacket and pants watched the scruffy looking soldier over the top of his sun glasses, while reaching for a knife.

* * *

John and Cameron walked through the narrow corridors of the costume shop looking at the many nylon pieces of clothing in the store. The future leader of the human resistance was stumped on what exactly he was going to attend the party as.

"_Maybe a soldier would be a nice touch?" _ He thought running a hand over a campy western getup.

"What should I choose?" Cameron asked looking lost in a sea of nylon and pictures.

"I wish I could tell you … but I don't think I know myself?" he sighed.

"Why do people wear costumes on Halloween?" she asked another, this time with a troubled frown at the whole situation.

"That's another good question." He sighed giving a humored look at a cross dresser outfit. He turned to his companion to find her doing her best impression of a little girl lost in a department store.

"Well …" John decided to attempt to help her out. "There are four types of costumes you can choose." He started with a scratch of his neck. Cameron lit up at the forthcoming lesson and caught up with him to listen.

"There's uh … Irony." He started showing her the transvestite costume.

"Irony?" she questioned.

"Yeah sometimes people dress up in something that is totally opposite of them for humor." He put the hooker outfit away. The teenage girl pondered it a moment.

"I'm in an organic sheath though I'm a machine inside … is that funny?" Cameron asked with a tilt of her head. John snorted at the comment as they continued between the large racks.

"I don't think Skynet's purpose was to bust someone's gut when it designed you …" then he paused at the statement a moment. "Well at least through laughter." He shrugged and continued.

"What's the second?" she asked.

"Umm …" he looked around for something to inspire him. "Oh …" he picked up a Wonder Woman costume and showed it to her. "Sometimes people chose things that they wish they could be." He handed her the costume and let her chew on his explanation for a moment. Cameron ran a hand over the smooth costume, tracing the sleek fabric.

"Like a Superhero?" she looked up at him.

"Yeah … or whatever it is that interests them." he chuckled at a two person horse costume, thinking about the consequences of suggesting his mom and uncle going with the get up.

"_As long as Derek's in the back it should be accurate …" _ He shook his head with a grin.

"The third?" Cameron joined him with the Wonder Woman costume in hand. John lifted an eyebrow at her choice but said nothing and went forward.

"Well, the third is something that says a statement about you or your personality." He poked a witches mask as they reached a corner wall where there was row upon row of rubber and latex masks, some were funny, some scary, and others just plain gruesome. Cameron seemed intrigued at the prospect; her face reflected a look that said her processor was going a mile a minute.

"So I could go as a robot?" she had a curious innocence to her voice. John smiled fondly at the statement wrinkling his nose at a Freddy Kruger mask.

"You'd be a machine … pretending to be human … who is pretending to be a machine?" he pieced out ending with a confused laugh.

"You would know that I know what they wouldn't …" Cameron explained honestly. There was a pause as John looked like he might go crossed eyed.

"So … number four" he decided to move on before the universe tore in half. "Well … the last is a lot more of an excuse for women than men." John seemed distracted a moment.

"Why's that?" she seemed slightly surprised at the statement. John continued to seem distracted.

Interested at what held her friend's gaze she searched out the sight, yet all she found was some blond girl trying on a Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader costume in a small dressing room. She blinked several times not seeing anything interesting that would constitute an abstract amount of attention. She turned to John to find him still distracted. She finally decided to trace his vision and found that the teenage girl in the skimpy outfit seemed to be the one catching her purpose's attention. She glared at the blond who seemed to be giving Cameron a look that said her milkshake was bringing her boy to the yard and there was nothing she could do about it.

"John …" Cameron called to the entranced young man. Then searching her files she remembered that when Sarah Connor wanted to get people's attention she would shove them, and judging by the nagging almost angry emotion setting her circuits aflame she saw it as a good move.

"John!" she shoved him a little harder then she wanted, sending him into a wall of president masks.

"Wow … What … what were you saying?" He stammered as he blushed deep red, not noticing the violent shove. She thinned her lips at him.

"Was there something intriguing about the cheerleader?" she asked passive-aggressively.

"Umm … uh … yeah" John fumbled a moment looking for the right words. "Yeah there was" he said with more conviction this time. "She is the perfect example of what I was talking about." He explained quickly.

"Really?" Cameron turned back to the girl who was looking at her rear in the mirror with satisfied gratification.

"Yeah … a lot of times college girls and older high school girls use Halloween to show off their bodies … you know to look sexy." He fumbled a little before straightening out.

Cameron looked emotionless before a small smile threatened to break out.

"Thank you for explaining."

She then began walking toward the small curtain rooms.

"Hey where are you going?" John called to her.

"To do some measurements …"

* * *

"He's late …"

James Ellison sighed in annoyance as he sat on the hood of his car at an unmanned stone quarry. He tapped an envelope on his leg impatiently, checking his watch for the third time in the last seven minutes.

The sound of an engine announced a new vehicle. Suddenly a black motorcycle jumped a small pile of rock and slid sideways on its wheels to brake. Though a stylish move, the bike kicked dirt and dust all over Ellison making him cough harshly while the dust whitened his black and blue suit. The rider turned off the cycle and put down the stand.

"Awesome!" Ellison huffed sarcastically and brushed himself off angrily.

"You Weaver's flunky?" the rider asked from the closed helmet visor.

"Yeah, I work for Mrs. Weaver." Ellison bit at the comment and jumped off the car. The rider reached inside his leather coat pocket and extracted a small plastic case.

"Inform your boss I'm not her errand boy!" the man tossed Ellison the box unceremoniously.

Catching it, the bald man looked inside the small clear container to find a tiny microprocessor chip embedded in black foam. Satisfied with it, Ellison walked over and held the envelope out to the man. The driver removed his helmet and hung it on the handle before moving to the halfway point. Ellison could swear he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't place the face for the life of him. What kept his mind wondering was the man's wavy, almost curled grown out black hair.

The younger man took the envelope and undid the tabs and looked at several laminated pictures quietly.

"Ricardo Guacharo … Security enforcer from Columbia, worked for a mining company in South America that specialized in something called Coltan." He briefed the twenty something motorcycle rider. The raven haired man seemed intrigued at the mention of the metal.

"Been following him for several days …" James fished for the importance of the mission to the younger man.

"Why does your boss think that a picture of some dirt bag and a couple of murdered prostitutes was worth the effort I put into to stealing that chip?" the man seemed more than a little pissed.

"Your boy here seems to be a right set killer my friend …" Ellison said looking a picture of a murdered teenage girl.

At the comment the man seemed to arch the index finger of his free hand under his nose, being cast into thought.

That was when Ellison got an interesting idea. "Do you know who _Sarah Connor _is?" he asked. The man looked up darkly at him as if Ellison wandered into something he shouldn't have.

"Where did you hear that name?" the stranger's voice matched that of his look.

"_Is it possible that Sarah Connor could have given birth to another child? Because the eye color is all wrong for him to be John." _

"Never mind …" he shook his head getting the answers he need from the man's reaction alone.

Then it was the motorcyclists turn to get hit with an idea.

"Do you have eyes on him?" he asked purposefully.

"Yeah he's at some Halloween costume place on Sunset …" Ellison looked confused. The man didn't acknowledge the confusion and seemed to be running something in his head.

"Shit!" he called at a realization.

"What?"

"Halloween costumes … party …" he said out loud, and then without a word he shoved the pictures of the murdered underage call girls in his inner pocket of his jacket as if understanding what Weaver planned for him to do with them.

"Hey, is someone in trouble?" Ellison called to the man, but he didn't reply as he pulled on the helmet and turned on the engine and with a torque he peeled out and stormed forward once again kicking dust on James as he jumped the same rock pile and disappeared.

"Oh come on!"

* * *

There were plastic props of bloody swords and axes which were followed by dozens of devil's pitchforks. These things seemed to make Derek smile. Though he originally didn't like the idea of the party, after wandering the store for a time, memories of Halloweens with Kyle seemed to flood back to him.

"Kid loved places like this …" he grinned at a knight's shield.

"Who's that?" Sarah asked fingering a devil pitchfork with amusement. Her voice took him out of his nostalgia.

"Oh … Kyle." He answered, picking up the shield. Sarah seemed interested at the comment and strayed back till they were shoulder to shoulder as they wandered.

"What was his favorite costume?" Sarah asked fishing for a story of her love's childhood escapades. Derek let out a chuckle and shook his head.

"He always liked to be the hero … knight or monster hunter." He rubbed his soul patch a minute with fond smile. "And I would try to convince him to be something else like a Vampire or a Zombie, but he would say that there were just too many monsters and not enough heroes to save the damsel." Derek laughed at the memories of a five-year-old knight armed with a plastic sword and shield off to rescue the damsel in distress. His smile however waned in the presence of a slightly emotional Sarah who took the shield from Derek.

"I guess he knew what he wanted to be since he was young …" She commented tracing the small cross on the shield.

"Guess so …" Derek nodded. There was a urge to take Sarah into his arms and hold her to him in thier shared grief. But he knew better, so he settled for cleaning the slate by quietly taking the toy from her and putting it back. Sarah cleared her throat and continued forward, discreetly wiping her eyes. Feeling a protective need to change the subject he pressed on.

"How bout you?" he asked. "What was your favorite Halloween costume growing up?" Derek caught up to her as they left the props for the adult costume sections. The beautiful woman shifted uncomfortably and there was a small pain in her eyes.

"My mother … she didn't let me go out in my Halloween costume." She widened her eyes with a sigh. Derek raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Was she overly religious?" he chuckled.

She gave a shrug as she turned away from him and pretended to look at a costume of a French maid; which meant she had either lost her mind or was deflecting.

A sting of hurt touched Derek's heart as he had seen that kind of reaction from certain kind of people before. It was usually a reaction of people who came from homes of abuse. Part of Derek didn't want to know what Sarah's mother did to her because he wasn't sure he could understand the pain of it either, as his own parents where the picture perfect example of soul mates. The love of a mechanic and a professional cheerleader were part of the reason he fought so hard against the machines, vengeance for what they took from him and Kyle.

"_I'm on roll with the conversations today?" _

Derek squeezed Sarah's arm, bracing for a swing at the small affection he showed her. But instead she placed her hand over his and rubbed it gratefully. He sighed in relief, and moved to another rack when she didn't come after him. They stood in silence as they shopped through what was available.

"So do you want to do a themed thing together or are we going solo?" Derek asked with a shit eating grin lifting two costumes of male and female plugs. Sarah gave a scowl at his choice, but couldn't hide the smile.

"If we're doing theme it's sure as hell not going to be that." She chastised to which he chuckled cheekily and put them back. Sarah was starting to get frustrated at the amount of completely inappropriate costumes.

"I think the word of the day is sexy." She observed out loud to Derek who had his back to her.

"Oh yeah" He said evenly lifting an eyebrow at a deli ninja costume.

"There is Sexy Witch, Sexy Nurse, Sexy Teacher, Sexy Angel, and Sexy Devil. Oh and my personal favorite Sexy Nun" Sarah listed off with an annoyed sigh.

"That's quite a list." Derek cleared his throat, trying to pretend that he didn't just imagine her in every one of those costumes.

"I think that the word classy Halloween only fits to the small child range." She snorted at the deli ninja over his shoulder.

"You could always be Belle from Beauty and the Beast." Derek offered her a gold gown. She gave him the best equivalent of "Bitch please" look.

"Does it look like I have Stockholm syndrome?" she asked with a sneer, taking it from him and putting it back. Something jutting out of an isolated row caught Derek's eye.

"I think I found something for you."

"Cameron … I'm back." John called impatiently as he tapped his foot at the black curtain in front of him.

"Did you find what I require?" she asked from behind the curtain.

"Yeah, but I think there's trouble …" John said with a paranoid voice, tossing over a white cowboy hat, and then looking behind him. At the comment Cameron poked her head out of the curtain and pulled John inside the small dressing cubical. Just as he disappeared, Derek and Sarah appeared.

"I don't know, Reese?" Sarah sounded nervous looking at the costume in her hand.

"Hey you wanted classy right, plus I think this walks the line between that and the word of the day." He smiled at her. She gave him a suspicious glare, but relented, removing her leather jacket revealing a soft cotton long sleeve. She handed Derek the jacket and disappeared behind a changing curtain. Derek grinned to himself at the costume he had chosen for her to wear.

He was unaware of a large looming figure behind him, that was about to strike his blind side. Then like a flash, a stealthy shadow in a brown leather coat appeared behind the large Latino and smashed his cybernetic left fist into the man's back. Before the assassin had let out a groan, the Tech-Com officer put him in a backwards choke hold and disappeared before the other soldier turned quickly to find nothing behind him.

"Cameron, I think I'm safe from a shifty eyed eight year old in an astronaut suit" John's voice protested from the inside of a changing booth.

This recaptured the junior officer's attention and he followed the voices to the first booth and swished open the curtain to find John alone in the booth pressed into Cameron in a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader's costume, complete with a cowboy hat. There was a deer and the headlights look from all three. Derek breathed to say something but stopped himself, and then he tried again but still came out empty.

"No" was all he said before closing the curtain.

"Derek" John came out after him.

"I'm good." He responded jadedly.

"It wasn't what it looked like." John chased after his uncle.

"What looked like?" Derek shook his head taking his former spot.

"What you just saw." John answered.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"What do you mean …?"

"What, I mean is that it never happened …" the soldier stated hoping John could take a hint. There was a pause between nephew and uncle, before John spoke.

"Right … never happened." John agreed with a clear of his throat. Intense silence stood like a wall between the two before the curtain in front of them opened.

Sarah walked out in an ancient Grecian queen's dress. The strapless costume fit her figure like it was tailored exclusively for her. The back was braced by small leather straps. Sarah seemed to have a pure glow to her as if she was fitting in to something truly meant for her.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked with a tiny bit of nervousness.

"Mom …" John seemed shocked "you're absolutely … gorgeous." he seemed to be flabbergasted at the sudden beauty. Sarah smiled humbly and turned to the man who chose it for her. This time Derek Reese was left without words for a good reason.

* * *

The double door exit to the warehouse costume shop flew open and a large Latino man flew out of the building and into a back alley, landing back first into a dumpster. After several moments Ryan followed cautiously keeping his distance from the larger man.

"You got lucky, Muchacho … it won't happen again." The man got to his feet with the dumpster help.

"Whatever boosts that ego" Ryan responded standing opposite the Latino male in the alley.

The man rubbed the back of his head and looked over his younger opponents clothing.

"What is this … Diet Connor?" the Gray assassin mocked his Tech-Com advisory's Father's dress style that the man had copied his entire life.

"Not exactly …" Ryan replied smugly.

The Assassin set his jaw and drew a secondary knife and pointed it at him. Ryan responded by getting into a martial arts stance.

With a growl the man charged forward swinging his knife in a horizontal slash at the officer. Ryan ducked under the swing moving behind him in a smooth motion. The attacked countered by taking a backhanded slash at the man, but in another water like glide Ryan ducked the swing, then sent a upper cut punch, jerking Ricardo's head up violently. With his chest open, Ryan sent a quick one-two combination into the larger man's cavity, when the man keeled; the martial artist hit the killer in the face with a double round house kick. The action sent the Latino into an abandoned book shelf next to the dumpster.

Ricardo tried to stand; only to fall back again, finding his sharpened knife to be stuck in the wooden surface of the shelf. He grunted as he tried to pull out but it seemed to be deeply embedded. Feeling like he was wasting time he got to his feet and gave a hateful glare at his enemy who stood in the building's shadow.

"This isn't your time or city …!" the larger man accused Ryan like a small child who was frustrated.

"Just moved" Ryan replied darkly.

Ricardo charged forward at the rival time-traveling soldier. Ryan kept himself to the man's inside keeping a distance of several feet as the Gray took two swings at him to which Ryan employed elbow blocks, then the officer countered by throwing a trained kick to the traitor's chest sending the man backward. With a vicious snap, Ryan snatched the man's favored punching arm and Judo flipped him to the ground slamming the air out of Ricardo. For which Ryan followed up by throwing him into a brick wall. The larger man slumped in half consciousness.

* * *

The Connor family exited the costume store in a small tizzy after Sarah almost went into a meltdown at Cameron's preferred cheerleader costume. She had forced her to choose her second choice, the Wonder Woman suit that came with a skirt and starry cape. Sarah however had not allowed the leotard/one piece swimsuit one Cameron had come back with.

Walking back to the Dodge, they encountered a large crowd by the store's back alley. The four watched as three police men escorted a large, naked Latino man with the word "Rapist" written on his forehead to a police car, while a fourth officer went over several laminated photos of dead prostitutes.

Derek frowned and turned around to find a familiar black motorcycle and helmeted rider sitting close the road. The man gave him a soldier-like salute and took off before anyone else could see him.

On a roof top overlooking the commotion, an opera-masked monster of a man holding a metal tube watched a black motorcycle race away from a crowd bellow. A river of dark liquid ran from under his mask as he tightened his grip on the pipe. He dug into the pocket of his fatigue pants and pulled out a phone. Flipping his phone open, he punched several buttons and paused a moment until someone on the other line picked up.

"It's Connor …" he said in restraint rage. "Step up the timetable …" he sucked in some air. There was a pause.

"That's right … set lose the **Clown** on Connor's **Witch Mother**."

He closed the phone and looked down at a purple-clad, angelic beauty lagging behind the rest of her family searching for threats.

"Your death will be his!"

The sound of a pipe being snapped rang out over the roof top.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**So I hope that no one wants to run me out of the fandom for suggesting that Sarah was Sexually abused by her mother … I just thought it would be a interesting reason for Sarah to want to be a better mom to John and why she is a inherently closed off person and also why she doesn't like dresses. But it's not a big plot line just something that is mentioned in passing at several points in the story. If you read 1983 then it's pretty much the same Sarah back story.**

**I usually don't ask for reviews, but I wouldn't mind to hear your thoughts on the story because they do help with inspiration and they tell me what I need to expanded on and tone down on so I don't leave you guys in the dust. **

**And finally the flashbacks to the ending of purpose and the Ryan/Samson fight will be coming after the next chapter when I catch everyone up on the overall plot of the two part FF Series. **


	4. The Man Who Laughs

**So this is going to be part one of two chapters. **

**Part one is sort of a reintroduction to things and sort of comedy to it. **

**These chapters will be the big exposition chapters that will fill in some of the blanks for anyone who didn't read Purpose. **

**The Man Who Laughs**

_**6 Months Ago**_

Amongst the many decrepit, old and forgotten piers of Santa Monica there once stood a certain pier. Its now rotted, shaky foundation many years ago had held a carnival business.

In the early 1920's, the Hartwell Family Circus was considered one of the best. It was notorious for its freak show spectacles and slapstick clown crew. Many young men would take their girlfriends and dates to the pier to see the bizarre, and in many instances scary, sights just so they could have the opportunity for their girl to cling to them, giving the young men an excuse to put their arms around them. Through the years the circus became increasingly darker, until soon the carnival was no longer a running gag location for first daters, but a haunted place where even the clown's jokes were considered sinister in nature.

In 1947 a string of murders were reported throughout the outlying area. But, the police had no suspects until the parents of a surviving teenage victim of one of these attempted murders hired a private eye to solve the linked crimes. A former Marine sergeant, Thomas Reese, built a case and provided evidence against a clown at the circus, who had no other name than Bonkers. When the skilled young detective turned his evidence into the police, the Hartwell Circus was crucified by the DA's office and in 1954, the pier was finally shut down. Fifty-four years later, the archway to the entrance of the circus, shaped like a green-haired clown opening its mouth, was taped and an eviction notice circa 1953 was slapped on one of the teeth.

The cold night bred a chilled wind that howled through the abandoned fair grounds, pushing an old carousel. The small bells and mechanical jingle sounded ever-so-slightly over the dusty area. The drapes and plastic ribbons danced in the breeze, giving thier shadows and silhouettes the appearance of tiny apparitions dancing to the grinding music of the carousel. Suddenly the wind picked up, and the low hum of electricity sounded over the old pier. With several loud crackles, an energy bubble of blue and violet appeared in the mouth of the clown, burning away caution tape and the weathered eviction notice. The power surge provided by the blast of electricity ignited the fuses of the entrance. A row of light bulbs burst on in a sequence pattern, and the sound of a mechanical clown laugh echoed through the dark night for the first time in fifty-four years.

After a minute of bright light and violent electricity the bubble dissipated and a shadowed, naked figure knelt. With a quick shiver the male figure stood. He was large and robust, with a dough-like fleshy face. The man had a keg-sized beer belly, and a prison buzz cut.

The mystery time traveler gave a good look around at the setting. Recognizing the face of the clown, he then let out small, child-like chuckles slowly matching up with the recorded voice. After several moments of checking his footing, and looking around at the decayed carnival grounds, the small chuckles became an insane hyena-like belly laugh that made him sound like a maniacal spoiled little child. With gleeful skips the figure entered.

* * *

_**Present**_

There wasn't much preparation to John Connor's costume. He simply put on his digital camo fatigues from Presidio Alto over a black t-shirt, and wore a gun belt with Cameron's present holstered at his side without a clip. He was beginning to really become annoyed with the wait for everyone else.

"_You'd think with the time it's taking Mom and Cameron that they were going to the prom."_

John sighed and clicked on the television. A DVD menu for the fourth disc of the Wonder Woman television series, starring Lynda Carter, was left running. After Cameron had chosen her costume the other day, she had bought the entire Wonder Woman. She had spent the last twenty-four hours watching it just to make sure she understood who she was dressing up as. It had amused John to find that the first-ever bonding time Cameron and Sarah had was watching the show. It was one of Sarah's favorites as a preteen.

"_The wonders of television …" _

Snorting, John turned off the DVD player, and flicked to network station, and became absorbed in game six of a World Series Baseball game. There was a loud knock on the front door. John sighed with a glare, turning his head toward the door.

"Forget it Timmy!" John yelled at the entrance to his house.

"Trick or treat!" the voice of an obnoxious ten-year-old in an astronaut costume yelled through the door.

"No!" John shouted back from the couch.

Just then the sound of someone coming down the stairs accompanied the defiant knock on the front door. There was shuffling of loafers near the door, and a scraping of the curtain rod, as the fabric was pulled back, immediately followed by the sound of someone shamelessly biting into a candy bar. After a beat the curtains closed with a metallic echo through the house.

"Dick!" the boy's voice yelled through the door at Derek, who entered the living room munching on a candy bar.

John ignored his uncle to watch the event of a foul ball that just missed the separating post. With a relieved sigh, he turned to Derek and gave an amused "Huh".

Derek was in a half suit, covered with a khaki trench coat and a fedora hat atop his head.

"Private Eye" he answered John's intrigued look.

"Nice …" John complemented going back to the game.

"You know your great-grandfather was a private eye." Derek commented off handedly, sitting down on the other side of the couch. He was more self-musing than story telling.

John turned back to Derek with an interested look. It wasn't often that John got family history stories. Mostly because he didn't know his dad, and with his mom he knew that his grandmother had done things to Sarah when she was in high school that he wouldn't want her to relive by telling him.

"In fact, it's how he met his wife. He was working on a case for her parents. When he solved it, your great-grandmother fell in love with him and they got married." Then Derek chuckled at something.

"What?" John smiled back with a puzzled face. Derek shook his head.

"It's just that it seems everyone in our family falls in love with only one woman in their life." Derek scratched his ear. "Pops and Grams, Mom and Dad, and your Dad and Mom …" He listed off in deep thought.

John pondered what his uncle was saying.

"_Is Cameron going to be the only one for me?" _

He wondered as he began to give some serious thought about his family history. He wasn't sure if there will ever be anyone other than Cameron. The sad part was he couldn't think or even imagine there being anyone else. That road of thought made him suddenly guilty that after all this time Riley hadn't even made a dent in his heart. She was fun to be around, and he liked her, but to say he loved her was far from the truth.

Numbly, John watched a strike out. He turned back to Derek, who seemed sad about something that was triggered by his observation. Both males, rather than air out their sad fears etched on their faces, chose to instead ignore each other's pensive faces and concentrated on the World Series.

During a commercial break a silhouette appeared next to the uncle and nephew. Cameron's hair was curled to perfection, with a gold tiara set upon her brow. The satiny-nylon red Wonder Woman top was skin tight on her gorgeous figure; tracing every perfect curve of her upper body. The blue miniskirt with white stars gracefully played off her long, toned legs. A red cape with silver stars was tied around her neck, covering her smooth, bare shoulders. While her red and white boots made clacking sounds on the wooden floor. Her brown eyes looked to John's costume and she gave a human-like, endearing smile his way.

"Wow …" John wolf-whistled at Cameron.

Derek, however, chose to give a half huff at the outfit and went back to the game.

Without hesitation, Cameron walked out of the light and into the darkened living room, settling between Derek and John. Derek glared and slid farther to the armrest. John unfazed, sat where he was, comfortably lounging with an arm behind Cameron's stiff form on the back of the couch. She gave a small ghost of a smile at the action, and with minuscule movement got closer to John. Soon both seemed to not realize that Cameron was pressed into his ribs as he slouched back, and the two looked almost like a couple relaxing before a night out. The three stayed silent as the game continued, slowly being drawn into it again.

"Shit!" There was a soft thud from the stairs that announced the arrival of Sarah.

"Mom … you good?" John called from the couch, not turning away from the TV at the sound of his mother's sixth slip on the long train of her costume dress.

"I'm good" Sarah called back from her sitting position on the stairs. Derek handed John his candy bar and went to go help Sarah.

Cameron blinked at the television commercial about cavemen and car insurance, which she was sure was inaccurate. But then like John had always told her. "_Can't believe everything you see on the tube." _Frowning, she stared at the metallic bracelets on her wrists and twisted them a moment.

"John …?" Cameron asked.

"Huh …" he grunted, while watching the shadows of his Mom and Uncle.

"You think that if I made bracelets out of Coltan, I could deflect bullets?" she asked curiously.

Quirking an eyebrow, he turned back to Cameron and shrugged. "I guess, but then wouldn't that be like me making bracelets out of human bones?" he asked. The cybernetic girl thought about what he said for a moment.

"Yes, but cavemen used to make jewelry out of human and animal bones and they're buying insurance now." She explained, almost defensive of her plans to construct Amazon bracelets. Letting out a small chuckle, John shook his head at her logic.

"This is totally unnecessary." Sarah complained as Derek came into the room, carrying her in his arms.

John smiled at the sight as the two in the dark, with his mother's white dress and Derek's suit and the way he was carrying her, it was almost like he was a groom carrying his new bride over the threshhold of their home.

"Quit bitching … it was this or you could have stripped out of the dress." Derek growled.

"_Yep, just like a married couple." _

Sitting down in his original spot he turned on a lamp, accommodating Sarah, who was sitting in his lap. Sarah was breath taking in her costume. She had done just the right touches of make-up, and pinned back her longer hair so that it touched her lower back. Derek gave a slight nervous gulp as his hand brushed Sarah's bare back, which was one of the drawbacks of her costume. Snorting, the youngest male shook his head as Cameron attempted to help Sarah get the ancient Greek dress untangled from her feet.

For a moment there was no lingering tension between the family, no pressure from the future, no death of a mob boss, and no pondering suspicions of the term I love you. It was simply a family trying to get ready for a Halloween party. Seeing the need to capture a rare, happily normal moment between his loved ones and uncle, John got up to get something he had seen in a storage closet.

* * *

There was a quiet, muffled sound of recorded screams and witch laughter echoing out of Kacy Cotton's house as local neighbors and children piled onto the patio and back yard of the large house.

Amongst several parked cars, a motorcycle swerved into a tight space near the curb. The rider powered down his ride and kicked down the stand. Ryan removed his helmet and took a look around. The feeling was strange as he placed his boots on the asphalt, feeling a connection to the ground.

"_I've been here before …" _

His gaze flicked back and forth on his surroundings, and then with a shrug, he hung his helmet on the handle and dismounted his cycle. He gave a frown as he watched colorfully dressed people in clothing that most wouldn't wear in public. Ryan had heard of Halloween before, and seen pictures, but to experience it up close was something completely different. Looking down he saw that his faithful brown leather jacket, yesterday's jeans, and a black T-shirt under his father's twenty-year-old navy blue Henley was nowhere near the acceptable dress for the party.

"_Guess I'll make up an excuse." _

He shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking across the lawn toward the front porch. Half way there, he stopped abruptly just missing a shifty-eyed, red-headed ten year-old in an astronaut costume laughing to himself as he ran away. Sensing something mischievous, he watched the kid for a moment. Yawing he continued forward, reaching a blond, pregnant woman in a pirate costume at the steps.

"Two things …" the eye patched hostess addressed him before he could give her a hello. Ryan twitched an eye. "You're supposed to be in a costume and two, why do you look so tired?" she asked disappointedly.

"Well first of all, the words 'costume party' wasn't in the description, second I was up late last night and all day today setting up computer equipment." Ryan answered Kacy's questions still amused at her getup.

"It's a Halloween party … costumes are, like, mandatory and I can't believe you of all people are a nerd." She tapped her foot impatiently.

"A what?" He squinted and jerked his head forward. Angrily, Kacy slapped his arm.

"What was that for?" Ryan rubbed his arm tenderly.

"How are you supposed to get my friend laid if you can't even bother to bring the A-game, hotshot!" she gritted her teeth at him.

"Excuse me?" Ryan said with outrage in his voice.

"Son of a bitch!" A familiar voice called out angrily.

The sound of the voice caused Ryan to smile smugly. It was a blast from the past to hear the voice utter the phrase he had heard a million times, usually because it was something he had done as a teenager.

Turning, Kacy and Ryan looked to a house a football field's length away as a man in fedora and trench coat rushed out and examined a black pickup truck which had words written on the windshield in red.

**JOHN AND CAMERON LYING NEXT TO A TREE **

**F.U.C.K.I.N.G**

"ASTRONOUT!" Derek yelled to the lawn over. "YOU LITTLE RAT BASTARD!" there was a vengeance to his shouts.

* * *

"Seriously?"

"Get in there and wait!"

Sarah frowned as she led John and Cameron to the entrance of her neighbor's house watching the pregnant lady pushing somebody inside against their will.

"Kacy?" Sarah called with a suspicious smile.

Hearing the voice, the blond slammed the front door which gave a secondary thump followed by a pained muffled curse word.

"Hey! You came!" Kacy said with a too suspicious cheeriness. Sarah craned her neck over Kacy to look at the door. Seeing the action the pregnant pirate stepped in front of the door to block her view.

"Oh my god, look at you!" this time the blond was genuine in shock at the family's costumes, but was more focused on Sarah than John and Cameron. As usual the royal-looking beauty shrugged humbly at the flabbergasted compliment. Turning, she looked at all three people. "You guys went for a Wonder Woman theme." She squeed.

"Wonder Woman?" John puzzled with a grin.

"Yeah …" Kacy began. "Sarah is Hypolita, Diana's mom, Cameron is Diana, AKA Wonder Woman, and you're Major Nelson." She pointed out with a charmed voice.

"But Major Nelson was an Air Force pilot, John is an Army General." Cameron corrected, causing Sarah to shoot her uninhibited comment a look, reminding her of caution.

"Meh, close enough." Kacy waved off the correction. There was an awkward silence that was cast over the four, before Derek walked up behind them with a scowl on his face.

"Hey it's the Dick …" Kacy narrowed her eyes at him after observing his costume.

The relationship between Kacy Cotton and Derek Reese had always been up and down. At first she was convinced that Derek and Sarah were married, but then she found out that they were only in-laws, and while she was okay with that, she felt like they were more to each other than that. There was a respect for the man when she saw that he took care of Sarah and the family like a true man of the house, but lately Kacy had noticed that he had been absent. With the added tension between John and everyone, Kacy felt sorry that Sarah was alone a lot these days.

"Nice to see you, too." He grunted at her. After a trade of dirty looks, the restaurant manager lightened her face.

"Party's in the back." She smiled sweetly. With a suspicious look Sarah motioned the family to go to the side of the house. Watching them leave, Kacy got a smug look and looked down at her belly.

"Look baby, your momma is about to give one of our friends a really good night."

* * *

Ryan rubbed his nose, which had taken a vicious shot from Kacy's door. He wiped away a tear from his only sinus and continued through the nicely furnished home until he reached a polished, wooden kitchen that looked to be the most important room in the home. There was a row of fancy pots on a rack above an island that had a large bowl of punch on the counter. He also found the same red-headed astronaut from earlier pouring a bottle of liquor into the reddish, orange punch with a devilish grin.

"Hey!" Ryan hissed at the kid. Being discovered the boy dropped a flask and ran off. After a moment he shook his head and walked up to the counter and picked up the cheap looking flask. He gave a raised eyebrow as he brought it up to his nose and sniffed carefully.

"Everclear … what kind of time period is this were ten year olds have Everclear?" Ryan said out loud, closing the flask and pocketing it.

With a sigh he figured he would tell Kacy when she got back. He stared at the faucet and reached out and turned it on. A smile formed on his face as he ran his hand under the stream of water letting the cold liquid rinse his only human hand. He wasn't ignorant of the times. He had his mother's neural network latched to his brain. So, while he may not have her memories, he knew of her experiences with the things, and some of the culture of 2008, and it helped. But, at the same time it was still a welcome sight to find running water that you don't have to check to make sure it wasn't poisoned.

Blowing out a breath he turned off the running water and ran the hand through his thick mane of black hair. He leaned on the counter and shoved his hands into his pockets again. Feeling two paper squares, Ryan dug them out and looked at them. A fond smile spread across his face as he remembered that they were two age-faded snapshots that had fallen out of his father's journal on his way out the door.

The first picture was of the Connor family in Halloween costumes. John was dressed as a soldier and Cameron in a Wonder Woman costume, both teens leaned into each other. Meanwhile Sarah, in a Grecian queen costume, was sitting on Derek's lap with a cringe as John's hand was placing a fedora on Sarah's head while Derek appeared to be laughing at the sight. The second seemed to have been taken several moments later, because this time all the Connors were pleasantly smiling, and huddled together for the camera, John being the one with the fedora on his head.

Ryan smiled sadly, and with his thumb, he rubbed a fingerprint off a part of the picture were John had an arm tossed around Cameron.

"Better days …" he sighed.

Then suddenly there was the sound of someone whistling an ominous tune nearby. There was a gut instinct that told Ryan that he was in trouble. He quickly reached for his pistol as the whistling got louder. Just as he was ready to draw his weapon, a man appeared in the kitchen doorway.

He was medium build and obese. His fleshy face was covered with smeared on clown's make up and he wore a moth eaten-dress tux, a top hat, and carried a cane. He looked like a homeless gentleman clown of the late eighteen-hundreds London.

"Hello … boy!" the clown spoke with an amused and drawn out, high pitched voice. There was a critical part of Ryan's gut that was telling the officer he was in danger. Never one to ignore his senses, the soldier took a defensive posture.

Seeing the motion the clown gave a large, almost painful looking grin Ryan's way and reached into his overly baggy pants. Letting out a childlike giggle he snapped his teeth and grinded.

"Draw!" the man growled.

Then, quickly, the clown pulled a ridiculously long barreled revolver from his pants and pointed it Ryan. Just as Ryan moved for his weapon the clown pulled the trigger.

POP!

Confetti flew from the barrel, followed by a flag with the word "Bang" stenciled on it. Seeing the soldier's reaction, the fat man let out a squeal of maniacal laughter at the man's expense, to which Ryan glared murderously. Then with heckling and obnoxious whistling the clown stuck his head out at the Captain and jinked it from left to right. With every fiber of his being, Ryan wanted to beat the clown to death, but the clown waved goodbye and skipped back down the hallway and out of sight. Without realizing it, Ryan exhaled a held in breath.

"The hell was that?" Ryan asked himself shakily.

Suddenly the build of stress caused the young man's cybernetic hand to twitch uncontrollably. He panted in fear, as he grabbed it to calm the malfunctioning prosthetic.

Back with his time in the 112th Tech-Com in North Africa, the local's used to fear the teenage soldier. When he had first arrived they believed that Ryan was an abomination kept alive only through demon parts. He was often referred to by many tribes as the "Phantom Hand", and it was rumored that his mother was a succubus that seduced his father. His unexplained spasms from Cameron's hand only fueled the tales that there was always an evil spirit fighting to get out of him. These stories always took their toll on Ryan who never denied them, as they were truth to a certain extent.

Feeling the shame that always followed the spasms he blew off Kacy's request to stay and left. Feeling less human then he did an hour ago.

* * *

John had never been the life of any party, and in fact, he had never liked them all that much. He didn't have much experience with them and the truth was he didn't feel the need to go to them. His whole life, before Sarah's capture and imprisonment, he had always liked just hanging out with his mother. He never saw anything wrong with it and he often felt guilty when he wasn't with her, because he never wanted her to be lonely.

When she was hooking up with someone for training he never got to see her that much. She would set him up by himself at motels, while she would spend the night at other men's houses. She lied to him a lot, saying that it was like him having his own house and he could make his own rules. He missed her terribly and there were times when she would come to his motel early in the morning as he was getting ready to go to school and she would be in a skimpy fetish costume and have bites marks on her or she would walk with a painful limp. All John wanted to do was hold her instead of go to school, but he knew when she came back it was time for another lesson about guns or military tactics, and there were no time for hugs.

It was this time six years ago that the illusion John was living in was shattered. It was just before Sarah was taken to Pescadero Asylum. John was in his motel room studying when he decided to break the rules and go find his mom to see what she was doing that night. He was hoping she would come to watch Charlie Brown with him. It was one of the few traditions that they held. Instead he found his mother in an expensive three story mansion sitting on the couch with an older man and his two kids in their Halloween costumes, as they watched Charlie Brown and ate candy.

The next morning he confronted his mother about it; Sarah begged him to understand that she was just playing a role that will help save the world. He had to understand that he, John, was her family, not the two spoiled brats and the man. It was that very morning that was the first and last time John told the woman he loved more than anything that he hated her.

Not two days later, the man who Sarah was fooling as his trophy housewife and soccer mom to his kids shot her in the leg, and sent her to Pescadero when he found out she was planning to destroy Cyberdyne's, his company, main building. John spent entire year and a half by himself on the run from the cops before they caught him and sent him to foster care.

"_Fucking candy company conspiracy holiday" _

"John?" He turned to Cameron who was standing next to him. She had spent most of the party following him everywhere in the large fenced back yard.

"Yeah …" he cleared his throat. Cameron looked at him with curious yet sympathetic eyes.

"You look sad." She said gently.

"No … I'm good." He gave her an empty smile. The teenage girl tightened her lips at his blank expression. Seeing that she wasn't buying the act, he sighed. "I just hate Halloween …" he scoffed looking at a little girl and boy in costumes that resembled the Cyberdyne CEO's children's.

There was a pensive look on Cameron's face as she looked around at the generally happy crowd. "Everyone seems to enjoy it, especially young children." She turned back to John matter-of-factly.

"Just bad memories … that's all." He answered her, getting lost in her angelic innocence that always captured him in the oddest times.

Oblivious to John's struck stare, Cameron tried to think of a way to help John cope with whatever was bothering him. Then she remembered something that a soldier leaving for North Africa told her as he packed a duffle bag in John's quarters.

"_Sometimes when there are bad memories in a place you should try to make some better ones." _

"Maybe you can make some better ones?" She offered looking into dazed green eyes.

"Yeah, maybe _**we**_ can." He responded to her in hypnotic state. The two stared into one another's eyes not flinching, not flickering eyebrows, and just looking at one another intimately as if John was sharing a soul with the machine in front of him. After a minute a sobering look played across John's face, blinking rapidly, getting some moisture back into his eyeballs while Cameron looked down. John scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous chuckle at the odd behavior the two were publicly engaging in. Seeing his opportunity to break the sudden ice that formed between the two, John pointed to a bowl of punch.

"How bout we start off tonight with some punch?"

* * *

"This party's lame …" Derek grumbled as he walked next to Sarah, who was starting to master the train of her dress.

Her costume was a hit at the party. Not only was it a glamorous departure from some of the other costumes the mothers in the Neighborhood wore, but the strategic exposure of skin seemed to make the father's and teenage boys drool.

"And what would you say a great party would be?" Sarah huffed at Derek who she was getting tired of hearing complain.

"I could tell you, but there're kids around." He smirked as they sampled the snack bar. Though she narrowed her eyes at his comment, she couldn't hide the grin on her face at the tone of his voice. Before Sarah knew what was happening, Derek was fixing both of them hot dogs as the line began to move.

"You've been to many parties?" He asked as he worked. Sarah shrugged.

"Here and there …" She shook her head at him when he offered her relish. "You?" she asked.

"Parties in Tech-Com were pretty rare, but when they did happen it tended to get rowdy and end with some fist fights … here and there." He chuckled at a distant memory triggered by a song playing, as he put mustard on both dogs.

"Something you can share in public?" Sarah tilted her head at him.

Derek gave a smug grin and handed her a hot dog, done just perfectly. It sometimes scared Sarah how Derek could figure her likes and dislikes on almost intuition. The two found a private spot where other wallflowers had congregated on the side of the lawn. They talked and watched people on the open dance area.

"It's just this song." Derek chuckled as he took a bite of a hotdog. Sarah stuck out an ear to listen to a song.

"Gasoline Alley by Rod Stewart?" Sarah questioned. Derek shrugged.

"Back in early 2024 our entire division did a stint in Canada to bolster the Third Army there, and a corporal in me and Kyle's Platoon named Ryan Phillips heard this song somewhere and changed the words to accommodate our situation." Derek smiled fondly as the lyrics were about to begin.

Sarah "huh" at his comment and as she bit in her hot dog she heard a familiar voice begin to sing different lyrics to the song.

"_I think I know now what's making me sad_

_It's yearning to return to my tunnel in Hollywood_

_I've realized maybe it was wrong to leave but_

_I can't seem to swallow my stupid Tech-com pride_

_Going home, running home, down to Home Plate base_

_Where we started from_

_Going home, running home to the Mexican deserts_

_Where I was born_

_Where the weather was better_

_And your freakin nails don't freeze_

_And the wind doesn't whistle at your knees_

_I'll pack my gear and catch a supplies chopper_

_And I'll be home before the Skynet patrols are_

_On the roll_

_Going home, running home, down to Home Plate base_

_Where we started from_

_Going home, running home to the Mexican deserts_

_Where I was born"_

As Derek sung, Sarah saw a light, almost nostalgic part of her roommate that she had never seen and felt herself liking a lot. For a moment he was back in Canada with all his friends and brother as they sung around a portable stove in the back of a supply truck in the snow drifts in the middle of the wilderness. Sarah couldn't fight the large grin on her face as she listened to him sing, imagining Kyle singing with the same stupid grin that the two people who loved him had right now.

"_But if anything should happen _

_And the climate goes wrong _

_Or the hyperthermia makes me say stupid shit_

_Let it be known that_

_My intentions where good_

_And I'd rather be_

_Puking from radiation if I could_

_And If battle calls me away_

_And it's my turn to go_

_Should the blood run cold in my veins_

_Just one favor I'll be asking you …_

_Don't bury me here it's too cold."_

Sarah was a little embarrassed when she let out a laugh at Derek's playful tone at the end of the lyrics before the chorus took over the song. He chuckled at her reaction to the song that was sung by the 132nd begrudgingly throughout the campaign. There was a small silence between the two; it had seemed like a long time since they had lowered their defenses around each other long enough to actually enjoy one another's company. Derek and Sarah shared a smile and relished the comfortable quiet with the both of them just brushing arms as they ate in silence.

"So … John's been a little off today." Derek said off handedly. Sarah's comfortable posture stiffened, and she cast her eyes down sadly as she took another bite of her hot dog.

"So he has." She acknowledged in a hardened voice.

"Is there a reason for that? At least something that hasn't happened recently?" he pushed not looking at her as he ate.

Conflicted about what to tell him, she threw her defenses up and crushed the napkin in her hands at the memory of the betrayed look on her little boys face when she came to see him on that morning after Halloween six years ago. He looked so sad and hurt as he accused her of pushing him aside for a new family while he sat alone in motel rooms. All that day she never felt sicker in her entire life as she carted two spoiled brats to soccer and jazz dance practice in a minivan while her one true love in life sat alone on a Saturday thinking that he was not loved.

"I'm done." Sarah said to Derek showing him her napkin. He got the message loud and clear, taking it, he left without a word giving her space.

She folded her arms around herself and fought tears. Every Halloween since her escape from Pescadero John had never wanted to be around her, and she knew that on this day that she shouldn't bother him. He still carried the scar, and even though he now knows why she did what she did, he still feels the hurt. There was nothing she wanted to do more at that moment than to take John into her arms and force him to stay there until he realized that he was her one and only purpose in life, and that she will always be his and no one else's.

"_This is going to get you nowhere." _

Sarah wiped a single tear from her eye and sighed spotting someone she recognized in the distance who seemed to be feeling the same way.

* * *

_A pair of warm pools of gold-flecked brown watched in wonder at the blankets of snow on the desert sands._

_On top of a snow and sand mixed dune, a six-year-old little boy stood in the open, looking out at the wasteland for the first time. The boy felt very small at the vastness, and felt an uncomfortable fear at the sloppy nothingness all around him. The cute boy was dressed in an overly large pullover hoody that had once belonged to his father, and a too-big beanie was fitted over his moppy raven curls. The boy's chubby cheeks were pink from the cold air, and he sniffled at his numb nose. _

_The sound of footsteps broke him out of his mesmerized look. The spot next to him was soon occupied by an extremely beautiful teenage girl clad in a closed purple leather motorcycle jacket with a scarf tied underneath it. Her tight blue jeans hugged onto her perfect curves as she stood straight backed, overlooking the terrain. She had two rifles slung on her shoulder. One was a large shotgun; the other was a modified assault rifle. _

"_Come" The girl had an emotionless voice as she addressed him. The boy looked into matching eyes and lifted his small hand for her to take and lead him. Cameron Connor simply blinked at the gesture, then at the boy before moving forward, leaving him with his hand in the air. With hurt in his eyes, Ryan Connor followed his mom into the desert. _

_It had seemed to take forever to get where they were going. Ryan amused himself by stepping in Cameron's pothole-like footprints. Finally, the girl stopped, causing Ryan, who wasn't paying attention, to run into her tight rear end, knocking him to the ground. _

"_uoof!" _

_Cameron felt a face running into her butt. , Turning she grabbed the boy off the ground by the front of his hoody and set him on his feet. _

"_Stay here." She said with a commanding scowl. The boy nodded and watched as his mother disappeared below a dune. After a moment of standing around, Ryan sat in the snow and sand and began building a sand fort to pass the time. When he was done he gave a pirate grin at his creation. As he was starting to add little steps to the walls, a combat boot crushed the north rampart. He looked up sadly at Cameron for what she had done. _

"_Leave what you find as is." She said emotionlessly, and then she turned to his sand and snow fort. With a sad sigh the boy stood up and kicked his work back into piles of sand._

_With that done she pointed to down the dune. The boy obeyed and started in the direction when she grabbed him back. She thoroughly brushed the sand off the back of Ryan's pants and hoody before releasing him to go. With an annoyed scowl, the moppy haired child walked down the sandy hill with Cameron trailing him. When they got down the hill, he found a burned out old car with seven snowballs placed strategically on top of it. _

"_What's this?" he asked his mom with a confused frown. Cameron picked up the assault rifle and marked it. _

"_Your first target practice." Cameron answered. _

_There was a nervous excitement that rushed through Ryan as he looked at his dad's rifle. He was going to get to shoot his first gun today. He was miles ahead of his best friends; Sydney and Alice, whose sister and momma hadn't let them shoot a gun yet._

"_You remember what your father taught you about shooting?" she asked stoically. Ryan nodded frantically. _

_Cameron laid the rifle on the ground in a perfect angle. After a moment Ryan walked to it and went stomach down on the snow and picked the rifle up with a strained huff and balanced it on the ground._

_He felt Cameron kneel next to him, followed by a warm slender body slide half on top of him, half next to him._

"_Don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire." Cameron advised docilely into his ear. Ryan obeyed holding the handle with all his fingers. _"_Aim carefully …" she instructed gently. The small child once again nodded squinting as he aimed the crosshairs for a snowball. _"_Once you have got your target … squeeze the trigger slowly. There is going to be a loud boom, but don't let it frighten you, just keep your eyes on the target." Cameron continued._

_Ryan wasn't going to be scared, but that had more to do with the warm bracing hug his mom had him in and less about having a concentration on his target. _

_**CRACK  
CRACK  
CRACK  
CRACK  
CRACK  
CRACK, CRACK**_

_One by one each snowball was obliterated by a single bullet. Ryan didn't miss once as he knocked each sphere in succession. When he was done he opened his right eye and looked at his handy work with a smug, lopsided grin. Turning to his mom for her thoughts, he was shocked. Cameron was genuinely beaming with a proud maternal grin on her angelic face, looking at her only child. It was the first time Ryan could remember making his momma smile._

Ryan had a sad grin on his face as he sat perched upon an empty picnic table with a beer in hand watching a painfully familiar angelic face in a Wonder Woman costume standing with several other costumed individuals. She smiled when someone turned to her in the conversation and laughed on cue when everyone else did.

The officer swigged the horrible tasting liquor to clear away the memory. He grunted a sigh at the god awful alcohol. It was a blessing and a curse to Ryan to have a failsafe in the form of a thirty year old TOK 715 Neural Network that will never let him become completely drunk so that he can still keep coordination as well as enough soberness to drive home.

"_Never numb enough." _ He complained to himself bitterly looking at the amber tinted bottle of beer perspiring in his hand.

"I'm stumped …" a familiar voice put a dagger in Ryan's heart when he heard it call to the lounging soldier. Turning, he found Sarah crossing her arms and looking his clothing over.

"Ever consider a prosthetic?" he joked trying to avoid the woman who was wrapped in so many of his painful memories it hurt just to glace at her beautiful face.

Sarah gave an unamused look the officer's way. Getting closer she could feel an almost unbearable amount of sadness that surrounded the man. She couldn't understand why it hurt her to see the stranger in so much pain. She bit her lip at the step out from her normal "let it be" attitude and turned around and slid into the spot next to the rugged man. Ryan lifted an eyebrow but said nothing just drank his beer.

"What I was saying was that I was wondering what you're supposed to be." She asked with a tilt of her head.

Ryan scoffed and looked at his left arm. "Wish I knew." He mused sadly flexing his mother's cybernetic fingers. Sarah gave a sympathetic look at the slightly younger man. Sensing the glassy eyed sympathy he gave a grim laugh.

"Sorry, just uh … thinking a little too much tonight." He apologized to Sarah. The ravened haired woman shrugged at the comment.

"Thinking can be overrated." She commiserated with a sympathetic lightening of her eyes as the man seemed to be lost in thought looking at his left hand.

When he heard her retort he looked up and both shared a smile at her comment. "I'll drink to that." He raised his beer to her. After another hearty swig the two sat in silence as one another kept an eye on the party and another on each other.

"So …" Ryan finally gave a good look at Sarah's costume. "Is this a reflection of your personality or is this a shrink exercise?" He asked with a wiggle of eyebrows that made the hard as nails woman bite her cheek to keep from laughing.

Instead she gave another "Hardy, har, har" look his way. "Just something that caught my eye." She replied simply hiding another smile by feigning interest somewhere else. Ryan gave a lopsided pirate grin at her and cleared his throat.

"You look very beautiful …" he spoke with an honest low tone in his voice, as if there was something deep in the statement. Sarah turned back, speechless. The man however seemed to catch up with his statement, turning away, trying to be as casual as possible.

Most of the time she would find a statement like that disconcerting, but there was something about this man, something about the way he looked at her, the way he genuinely cared, Sarah couldn't help but be at ease around him. She felt less guarded, almost the way it was with John.

"Thank you" she replied with a genuine smile.

"No problem." He smirked going back to the party thankful his slip up didn't go left of the right way he had meant. After a moment they both saw Kacy watching them, her face was scrunched with a dirty toothy smile and she nodded at them.

"What's she doing?" Sarah asked.

Ryan quirked an eyebrow. "Apparently the only reason I was invited is because I'm supposed to make sweet, sweet love to you." He said flatly still watching their hostess.

"Really?" She smiled at his tone.

The man shrugged. "It's why I'm here." He laughed opening his arms in a welcoming manner.

"But I'm not on the pill."

"It's okay I don't believe in birth control."

"What would everyone think?"

"Screw them, they can't do what we do!"

"Such sweet pillow talk."

"Who needs pillows?"

"Who needs a bed?"

"I just want to make you feel beautiful tonight Angel …"

"Then take me in a manly fashion, stranger."

They both smiled at their act and chuckled shaking their heads at the plot that brought them together that wasn't going to happen for all the money in the world. She sneaked a look at the young man who was still grinning at their exchange, chuckling under his breath at the replay. It made her feel good inside to see him smile, the way it did when she heard John laugh at something.

Stiffening, Ryan narrowed his eyes at some commotion. "Looks like you might be needed, elsewhere." he pointed to the snack tables.

Sarah followed the soldiers finger to a hotdog on the ground in front of Derek who looked like he was about to explode at a robust clown in top hat and tails who was laughing at the oldest Reese boy. Derek's was about strike when the clown gave a guilty face for slapping the dog out of his hand. Reaching inside a pocket, the fat man gave Derek a plastic flower. With a control of his anger the soldier took the flower. The clown motioned for Derek to smell it. With a calming breath he moved the flower to his face. Just as he went in for a sniff the flower squirted root beer onto Derek's face.

Dropping the flower, the soldier wiped his face with his coat sleeve and turned with a vengeance on the clown. He took an angry swing at the obese man only to hit the air missing the smudgy makeup individual who took a fighters stance, hopping up and down rotating his fists in front of his face in a campy mocking of the Tech-Com junior officer.

Seeing red, Derek threw an upper cut at the clown to which it dodged easily and bounced in a circle around him making high pitched growls, as if making fun of Derek. He next tossed a trained elbow at the fat man, but all he did was twist out of control, crashing backwards and over the refreshments table. Staggering to his feet, Derek was about to advance on the high pitched chuckling when Ryan locked the others solder's arms behind him in a restraining manner while Sarah stuck herself between Derek and the clown.

"Hey … HEY, Reese … that's enough!" Sarah pressed her hands and chest into Derek getting him to look into her eyes as he struggled against Ryan hold. Getting caught in hardened emerald orbs and the calming touch of Sarah's body on his chest, Derek slowly settled.

A moth eaten gloved finger poked Sarah's exposed waist. Turning quickly at the touching of her bare skin she found clown with a sad face and he offered her a handkerchief for Derek's soaked face. With a suspicious glare she took it and pulled only to find that it was attached to a sting of them inside the clown's sleeve. The clown exploded in maniacal laughter as the Spartan Queen tossed the rag down. Derek momentarily fought to get free of Ryan's Judo lock but was quickly calmed by Sarah again. The clown laughed and whistled the ending credits music to the Looney Toon's cartoons as he bowed and skipped away.

* * *

"That clown is toast …"

Sarah gave Derek an amused scowl as he sat on a picnic table while she cleaned his face with a piece of the train of her dress that she had been dying to rip off. Despite the fighting words, his tone and heart wasn't in the threat as he felt Sarah's hands trail his face with only a thin cloth.

Tossing the wet cloth on the table, Sarah touched Derek's face just to make sure she hadn't missed a spot. Her eyes soon became lost as her hand began to wander through his scratchy stubble. The scrapping of the hardened facial hair against her surprisingly smooth palms gave a mutual tingle of pleasure to both.

Derek looked into concentrated green eyes, feeling compelled to move on the feelings swirling in his chest. He reached and took her naked waist with gentle care and almost on instinct he began to stroke her cool skin with his thumbs. This caused her to look at him in confusion as she felt like she was being pulled in a thousand different directions. Cautiously she cupped his cheek with her other hand, and to her surprise he turned into the touch. Then subconsciously the two's faces started to close the gap of separation. Neither knew what got into each other and there was almost a sense of stepping outside as their lips brushed. There was a pause before the plunge between them as if each wanted the others permission.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Being brought back to reality like a plane crash, both parties separated quickly finding Ryan watching them with a towel in hand.

"No … God … no." Sarah said a little too panicky, stepping away from the soldier who released her smooth sides quickly.

"I can come back." Ryan said with a lifted eyebrow and tossing his thumb over his shoulder.

"No …" Derek grunted with a fogged mind, trying hard to get a hold of himself, he slid off the table.

Sarah crossed her arms trying to desperately to control a hungry need in her that was awakened. It was dark and powerful, she had read about this kind of fiery passion before in sappy romance novels she used to love as a teen, but she never thought that in a million years she would be actually feeling it. There was an awkward silence between the three people at picnic table as two of the three where trying really hard not to lay their hands on one another.

"Okay … well." The youngest in the small group cleared his throat. "I'm going to be outside if anyone needs me …" Though his comment fell on Sarah's deaf ears, Derek caught Ryan's poignant stare. With a small nod the officer walked away, leaving Derek and Sarah alone. Both were scared to even look at each other in the event of losing control.

"I need to go change." Derek cleared throat. Sarah nodded her head.

"You should." She responded with a clenched hiss.

Derek sidled past Sarah on his way to the gate, but stopped when one of his hands brushed her bare back. At the touch Sarah sucked in her breath. Both paused as his hand lingered. Then once again, like being directed by an unacknowledged part of his brain, Derek began to run his hand over her bare back, becoming addicted to the feeling of her now-hot skin under his palms. With her eyes rolling to the back of her head, Sarah gripped the table and shuddered at the gentle trails over her exposed skin.

She bit down hard on her lip when he reached her lower back. Then cautiously, he ran his hands down her sculpted hips to her thighs. She made a fragile whimper as she felt the hands stop just as they were about to enter between her thighs.

"Christ … I need to go!" Derek shoved his hands in his coat pockets.

"Agreed …" Sarah sputtered. There was a pause between the two as they stared into one another's eyes.

"Yeah!" Both said at once and went separate ways quickly.

* * *

"You ready?"

"Yes"

"You know what to do?"

"Yes"

"Do I know what to do?"

"Do you?"

"Wait …"

John was on his third cup of punch and he was feeling great, scratch that, he was feeling awesome. But he seemed to having trouble remembering things.

"Remind me again?" John squinted. Cameron looked off to the distance a moment as if trying to remembering what they were about to do.

"You were going to show me how to do something involving the use of lunar gravity on earth." She answered matter-of-factly.

John looked at her with a dazed expression that was only missing the appearance of drool on the edge of his mouth.

"I swear … it just the way you say things, Angel." John sighed downing the rest of his punch. Cameron gave a small interested lift of her eyebrows. John smacked his lips with a giggle.

"John …"

"Huh?" he turned back to Cameron who was tilting her head at him.

"You called me _Angel._" She frowned in confusion.

"So …" he looked around a moment and hung his empty cup on the back of the stinger of a soccer mom's bee costume.

"Why …?" she asked watching the unaware lady walk away.

John paused and then smiled cheekily. "Because of what happened to your head …" he said happily. Cameron continued to look lost. "You remember on our first day of school you said you fell … hard." He chuckled.

"Yes …" she nodded.

"Well I know why you fell." John sighed. The girl looked shocked at his statement.

"How …?" she had an innocent fascination to his statement that melted John's heart. He closed the gap and boldly kissed Cameron on the nose.

"_It's a long drop from heaven …" _he whispered and strolled away. The nylon clad cyborg processed the confusing conversation a moment trying to decipher what it meant. Several moments later a small smile formed on her face when it finally came to her. John came back to Cameron and grabbed her hand.

"Woops … I almost forgot something." He said clumsily and tugged her with him.

Cameron suddenly remembered why she liked drunken John.

* * *

**Author's Notes **

_**End of part one …**_

_**Gasoline Alley was just something I was listening too and got the idea at the last moment. **_

_**I hope you guys liked the Cameron flashback.**_

_**I didn't really like the way I wrote Sarah and Derek in this one, but you guys decide …**_

_**This is going to be the humorous part of the two and the next one will be full of angst. **_

_**I'm not going to say when part two will be done, but I'm optimistic that it will be this week.**_


	5. My Father's Gun

**_So this is part two … and let me tell you, it's a beast._**

_**If any of you are wondering Sarah's costume and look is queen Gorgo for 300 which is kinda funny because that's what Future!Sarah looks like in 1983 … but moving on. **_

_**If you haven't read purpose then you're about to get the summery peeps. LOL**_

_**Umm … there is a playlist to this on my profile so if you want to do a little multimedia experience with the chapter then I posted what I listened to get into the scenes.**_

_**I dedicate this one to Kaotic who has been on board with this story since three minutes after I posted Chapter one LOL! **_

_**So thanks pal. **_

_**Enjoy it ;)**_

**My Father's Gun**

**January 13, 2030**

**Personal Entry # 1**

**I have inherited this journal. From this day on it's mine.**

**Last night I cremated Mom and Dad in the woods. I laid their broken bodies in the only place where nature remains untouched by the war. It wouldn't have sat right to lay them to rest where any Canner had stood.**

**In the morning I'll take my motorcycle back across the desert to link up with what's left of the 132nd and rejoin the fight.**

**And, this time, I won't rest until I know that this war is won.**

**So from this night, until I die …**

**I wear my father's gun.**

* * *

The air of the early night was turning from cool to cold with the help of the strong sea breeze that swept through the trees, making them shimmy and shake with loud rustles. It was times like these that Derek didn't know quite how to react to the situation of a quiet night. It seemed like it had been an eternity since he was out on the wire with his squad, sneaking around rubble and hugging concrete while HKs passed overhead. But now, a year and a half later, and residing in the past, he relished these times of night and yet still dreaded them.

On one hand, it was like being in paradise to have a peaceful night without having to wonder if the FNGs on sentry were going to screw up, or your hiding spot will be filled with metal. However, at the same time, when you go out at night, even to take the trash out to the curb, it takes you half an hour because you're afraid that you might expose yourself to an imaginary sniper that might catch you in its crosshairs.

But tonight he didn't have the war on his mind, At least not a war of violence. There was a deep conflict about two of the women of his life. Jesse was his girl and always had been, but he knew in his heart that this woman he was spending time with wasn't the same woman he had loved back then. He wasn't sure how, and he was pretty sure he would get a headache trying to think about the ways in which that was possible.

Then there was Sarah. He wasn't sure when, or how, it happened, but she had become the center of his world, both her and John. It seemed that overnight he went from a leader of three other soldiers in a marathon detective hunt for the Maltese Falcon (the Turk) to being the man of a household. But what seemed to affect him more than anything was that gorgeous warrior woman he lived with. He used to hate when Kyle pulled out that old picture of the too-beautiful-for-words teenage girl, but now he can't help realizing what Kyle saw in her. Maybe it was a curse along the lines of parents wishing a matching trouble maker clone on you or maybe a great Shakespearian irony to be in love with someone you disliked so fiercely in your past. But after tonight's events, he knew that he would have to make a choice soon.

Will it be the familiar stranger or the complication that he can't get out of his head?

Derek stopped when he spied a shadow lounging against a tree waiting for him.

"It's been awhile."

The voice was deep, but youthful, with a hint of a growl.

Derek smirked grimly.

"You sure look different …" he replied tensely, reaching into his coat.

The figure tossed himself off the tree and came into the moonlight. He was tall and handsome with stubble and brown eyes. He wore a familiar old leather jacket and his curled black hair stayed camouflaged in the dark. He was also gripping something in his jacket. The two men gripped the items in their outerwear, tightly sizing the other up with a biting tension.

"Reese …"

"Phillips …"

With a stoic face, Derek pulled his hand out of his coat as if drawing a weapon only to show his fingers in the shape of a gun. In return, Ryan drew the item in his jacket, revealing a metallic flask. Both men's sober war masks melted into smiles. Derek let out a chuckle and closed the gap between them and traded a forearm brace with raven hair soldier.

"You sandbagging son of bitch …" Ryan slapped Derek's arm playfully. Derek responded by grabbing the other officer by the front of his jacket and shook him, while giving a good look at the grown man in front of him.

"Look at you … I do believe Connor's Little Robin fell out of the nest." He laughed.

Ryan shrugged cockily though glaring at the statement. "Skynet hasn't found a way to kill me yet." He smirked holding out the flask. With a suspicious look Derek took the tin flask and opened it.

"Everclear …?" he laughed. Ryan gave him a coy smile.

"What's this, hard ass Lieutenant Derek Reese scared of a little proof alcohol …?" the Captain crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Hardly _Boy Wonder_ …" He accepted the challenge with a swig of the flask. Ryan glared at the name and snatched the drink from him.

"That's _Man Wonder _to you now." He knocked back the clear liquid which was followed by a scowl and a hard gulp.

Seeing the young man reminded Derek of Kyle, which made sense since his brother was the soldier's grandfather. He felt a little regretful at the thought of the family his little brother was missing out on.

"So looks like two of the stupidest bastards in Tech-Com seemed to outlive the war." Derek chuckled with a regret filled voice.

"So it seems …" Ryan scoffed at the comment. Both men were quiet as if giving the dead a respectful moment of silence.

"So what do you think we should about this divine paradox?" Derek asked gruffly rubbing his cheeks as if cleansing the survivor's guilt plaguing his mind.

Ryan paused when lifting the flask close to his lips.

"I say we throw a party …" he smirked arrogantly before downing the liquid.

There was something about the comment that made the small building sadness in Derek's gut disappear.

"Oh no …" Derek clapped his hands and put an uncle-like arm around the younger officer's shoulder.

"I've learned the hard way about getting drunk with a Connor."

* * *

"And that's how you use whipped cream … the right way."

Sarah raised an eyebrow at the story Kacy was telling her and several other moms that had congregated.

"That was …" a blushing petite woman in a witches costume paused as if finding the words to express her emotions. "The best story ever." She whispered.

The Grecian queen had to admit that the erotic story just told was intriguing. Sarah never thought in a million years that she would be in a group of housewives listening to their desperate tales of the good-old-days when they were wild, college sorority girls doing shots off some random woman's stomach in Cancun. However, she reserved judgment, because she was often, until recently, that random woman that the college girls were licking salt off her stomach. But the less she thought about what she did to get the attention of a future military teacher the better.

It was strange but in a very surreal way Sarah somehow had become sort of a housewife. She often found herself cooking, cleaning, and even doing laundry between missions and recon. With the unlimited amount of diamonds that Derek had just randomly showed up with several days ago after they had been robbed, the need for a job wasn't necessary. She had even caught herself watching General Hospital more than once lately.

"How about you Sarah …?" Kacy turned to her which in turn the entire women followed. "What were you like in college?" Kacy asked with a hopeful expression. She smiled and shrugged sipping a beer a moment.

"I was a business major and a 'walk on" cheerleader.' She admitted honestly. There was a cue from the gaggle of women who seemed to smile at the story. "I was in the middle of rush when I met my children's father … and I never looked back." She said with fond smile, thinking about Kyle and his confusion when she told him she was thinking to pledge to Kappa, and asked him what he thought about that while they had made pipe bombs.

"And he was a soldier right?" Kacy asked. Sarah nodded with a loving smile.

"The best" she commented with another sip.

"What was it like when you first met Derek?" one of the women asked. It wasn't lost on Sarah that most of the women on the block had crushes on him.

"I didn't really meet him till after Kyle died … but he's been amazing." She commented with a nod.

"And he's helped you raise those kids?" another woman asked.

Sarah thought about her life if Derek would have been there to help raise John. She would imagine that debutant, rich-girl Sarah Connor would probably drive the soldier insane, but knowing him and his personality he would have put up with her. He could've been the one to teach her everything she knew and then she would never have needed to sell her dignity and body for training, and she knew that he would have loved John like his own.

"Yeah … I don't know what I would have done without him." She commented trying to push away a what-if that she didn't want to admit she fantasized about every night while on the cusp of sleep.

"Well you should be proud, you and Derek have done an amazing job with John and …" Kacy began.

"Woman of the house, I've brought the son home for supper!"

Sarah felt familiar arms wrap around her waist, playfully.

"John …" she gave a humored smile as her son bear hugged her from behind, she snuggled into him a moment. However, the humor went away when she smelt the alcohol on his breath when he kissed the corner of her mouth and he lifted her off the ground momentarily. "John Co … Baum are you drunk?" she cried, trying to turn to look at him but the teen kept getting behind her till she finally turned around in the embrace and caught his face.

"No … you're drunk and projecting." He denied making a clicking motion with his hand as if flipping a projector. She gave him a seething glare, but he seemed too preoccupied with the clicking motion he was making.

Just then Cameron came walking up as the other woman decided to scatter from the awkward situation.

"Why is he drunk?" Sarah asked as John began to slow dance with her to the music playing in the background.

"I'm not sure myself … he hadn't consumed any alcohol." Cameron answered Sarah.

"I wanna know what love is … I want you to show me!" John sang out loud twirling Sarah before pulling her back.

"I beg to differ."

"Wow …" Kacy laughed as John began to hum off key. "John is like five sheets to the wind." She pointed out with interest.

The song ended and John grinned and let go of Sarah. "Look at that, I got a dance with a beautiful woman and I didn't have to buy her a drink." He admitted out loud to a cheer and applause from a small crowed off to the side. Sarah face palmed at the neighborhoods reaction to her son, who lifted his and Sarah's arm victoriously.

"Wow, Johnny's got his beer goggles on." Kacy couldn't help but be totally amused.

"Yes … that's what the DJ said when John started yelling 'Free Bird' at him." Cameron reported.

"Don't worry Cammy … you're still my girl." John admitted when the crowd dispersed at the death glare Sarah gave them.

"I think I need to get John home." Sarah turned to Kacy, grabbing John by the back of the collar before he escaped.

"Really …?" she asked disappointedly.

"Yeah … I have a feeling that we have a long night ahead of us." Sarah sighed when "Axel F" started.

As the song started, the music inspired her son to spin out of her grip, snatching Timmy's astronaut helmet, and stiff arming a man who was dressed as a blue M&M, charging into the backyard in full running back form, being pursued by Timmy, several other angered M&Ms, and Cameron.

"Well, I think you should at least let him tire out." The pregnant pirate pointed out.

"No, I think we should just go home." She crossed her arms watching her son never swash a braver buckle in his own mind, leaping on top of the refreshment table and over a red and green M&M, and run away from the rest of them, disappearing into the crowd. She looked around several moments before she spotted something that caused her to face palm in embarrassment for her child.

On the dance floor the Future leader of mankind was surrounded by people who watched him spike the helmet like a football in victory of eluding all the colors of the rainbow and Timmy. His celebratory dance started with the moon walk onto the middle of the dance floor, where he proceeded to do The Robot at the end of Axel F, while a real robot, dressed in a Wonder Woman costume, following him around oiling him just like she had been shown by John earlier.

* * *

There was nothing on in the Connor house except a corner lamp that bathed the living room in a faint light. Derek sat in a recliner across from the other soldier who was smiling at a story with his mouth but not his eyes.

"For all the times we said that Canada was too cold and barren to be of military significance … we sure found ways to amuse ourselves." Ryan leaned down and placed his face in his hands with a small chuckle. Derek nodded and sat back with a beer, there was a silent pause as the room was quiet, the two men knew that the time for reliving the good old days was over and the evitable question had to be asked.

"Why are you here?"

Derek asked point blank after a moment. Ryan scoffed at the blunt question and sighed, taking a swig of the last of the Everclear.

"Protect Sarah Connor …" he answered, relishing the burn in his throat setting the flask on the table.

Derek snorted at his comment and gave a disbelieving look the young man's way, giving him time to give the real answer; with no sign of his leg being pulled Derek narrowed his eyes at the soldier.

"You're serious?" Derek turned humorlessly with a grim laugh in the hopes that Ryan was just a good actor at selling his joke.

"Dead." Ryan confirmed with a stoic numbness to his voice.

The notion of this new devolvement somehow seemed unbelievable. If there was one essential to the legendary tale of John Connor it was the almost-invincible Sarah Connor, whose love and devotion to her child was the quintessential guide for the mothers in the future. She was the archetype, the mold every mother tried to be with their children. So to hear that General John Connor sent someone back to protect the world's greatest fighter, Derek had to scratch his brain at that line of thinking.

"Why?" Derek frowned. "You of all people should know that if there is one person in this world that doesn't need a protector from the future, it's your grandmother." Derek leaned back in the recliner.

Ryan smirked sadly at the comment and cleared his throat. "I wish that was true …" he sighed and seemed to be cast into pensive thought. Suddenly something inside Derek dropped and broke in his chest like a brittle brick. Worry seemed to take hold of him.

"John Connor wouldn't have sent his only child on the lost highway unless something happened … something bad." The nagging feeling that tragedy had struck had been in the back of Derek's mind since he saw Ryan.

Back when he was a teen there was a fire in the kid, a sense of immense almost stupid amount of courage that inspired daredevil feats. But the grown man sitting in front of Derek had no flame, he was no longer an angry young man that fought for the way the world should be. All he saw was a tortured individual, with regret and a dark need of revenge for something. In Derek's absence from the war Ryan Connor had grown into being his father's son.

"Dad didn't send me here." Ryan answered his question. "I sent me here." He finished.

"Is there a reason why you came here without the old man's orders?" Derek managed to sound more like a chastising uncle who was grilling his nephew for doing something dangerous than a fellow soldier.

Ryan took a deep breath and reached into his jacket and drew a pistol, he pulled out the magazine and unchambered a round and caught it midair, and then he tossed Derek the weapon. Catching it, the older man looked over the gun. It was a large Colt 1911, with a dented and scratched chrome barrel, and a faded black rubber grip.

"How did you get this?" Derek asked examining the weapon that he knew had been John's, a gift from his lost wife when they were children in love.

"Brought it back with me … using a _flesh bag_, same with most of my clothing and money.

"Flesh bag?" Derek squinted.

"TDE trick … stick your stuff in an air tight bag and put it through a T-800 tissue press, that way you can have funding and clothing when you arrive." Ryan explained.

Derek wanted to kick himself for not thinking like that beforehand.

"That's not what I meant … I didn't think John would have given this up, he carried this old gun since I've known him." The older man held up the pistol. There was a small silence in the room before Ryan spoke.

"He didn't."

There are moments in time in which the world seems to slow to a standstill. Most of the time this phenomenon is reserved for weddings and first glimpses of the people you will spend the rest of your life with. At that moment Derek experienced his second moment like that in his life. The first time it happened to him he was in prison, waiting for his lawyer when he saw a beautiful woman in business attire for the first time. It seemed like eternity for her to sit down across from him. This time however it was different, because this time he was slapped with an almost undeterred denial of realization that hit him like a baseball bat.

"_John Connor is dead." _

Derek wasn't sure how to react, because, as a soldier, there was always a mournful feeling to lose a commander. It was hard to believe as someone who lived through hell in the future that someone like the mighty, almost god-like leader of humanity had died was hard to comprehend. But what was hardest on Derek was coming from his standpoint as a father figure. When he first arrived he had always separated the teenager and the leader, but after sometime getting to know the kid it was hard to tell them apart from a family standpoint. The emotions of the loss of a family member seemed to rule the sorrow he was feeling.

"I … I can't believe it." Derek cleared his throat of emotion and leaned forward in his seat.

"Yeah … me neither." Ryan commiserated looking at his left hand. The room was silent as Derek tried to wrap his mind around the idea that one of the world's greatest men had died.

"You know it's strange when I was growing up I never seemed to worry for the old man … I would be scared for my Mom and everyone else who would go out there in the early days. I guess when you're little you sit there and watch him fight and win every time even when you don't think he could pull it off. After a while you start fooling yourself into thinking 'Nothing can hurt my Dad.' And as I got older and he became this messiah, that illusion was something that only grew. It was only after his death that I finally saw him as a man and not something else … something that I could never live up to no matter how hard I tried." The officer said pensively running his hand through his thick waves.

"He was a good man …" Derek said with a dazed voice. Ryan looked up at him and scoffed at the statement. "What?" he asked looking back at the young man.

"Come on Derek let's be honest here, you hated that cold, calculating son of bitch as much as I did." He sounded bitter despite the chuckle that accompanied his admission.

He couldn't argue with what Ryan said. Before jumping with his squad Derek was bitter as was everyone with his decisions, but now he understood why John made them.

"Yeah well things change." Derek grunted regretting his lack of faith in the man.

"Derek … My old man was an obsessed bastard who raised me like a warrior because that's the only way he knew how to raise a child on his own." Ryan scratched his stubble and had a growl to his voice "I don't hate him because he was a deadbeat father; I know he did the best he could. I hated him because he gave up on my mother … I hated him because he gave up on his family, because it was easier to remarry some twit of a doctor named Brewster and forget about Mom, than to live with the fact that he let her down when she needed him. It pissed me off that he could just so easily go and start a new family, while he left me out there to find a woman he used to call his Angel … it took me years to come to terms with what he did, but that doesn't mean that I don't love him. But I don't have any illusions that there was only one person in his whole life he loved completely, and Sarah Connor died before I was born." Ryan broke off his sentence. The young soldier had spoken with anger and frustration about the only Parent he had ever known.

There was a part of Derek that felt a twinge of guilt, because he knew despite what Ryan had said, John had never truly loved Katherine Brewster. "They said that after what happened to your mom … he never was the same." Derek replied remembering the tales of Cameron Connor.

He had never met her, or even seen her before, but if Sarah Connor was considered everything a mother needed to be, then Cameron Connor was considered to be everything a lover and a wife was supposed to be. Those that had known her, or even just met her once, had said she was the most beautiful woman that had ever walked the earth. Many considered her to be the perfect wife, tough, youthful, kind, and graceful. To how much the Connor's marriage had been idealized, Derek wasn't sure. But he knew that the love John had for his wife had been a thing of mythic proportions, so much so he named the Metal after her when she was reprogrammed. It was common knowledge that he and Ryan spent years in the wilderness searching for Cameron when she disappeared. Many in the senior command said something happened in the jungle that had changed John fundamentally when he returned alone after three years. Yet there was only one person who knew what happened, and Ryan never talked about it.

"You found her … didn't you?" Derek asked.

"She saved my life after my botched rescue attempt … Then she exchanged her freedom for my life." Ryan tapped his left hand on the leather arm rest.

"How long was she in the _Hotel California_?"

"She didn't go to Century, she spent five years as one of Skynet's lieutenants, going toe to toe with Dad on the _Chess Board. _ Then one day Skynet released her from its service, so she ran back to Dad only to find him dead … she killed herself with his rifle almost immediately after finding him, fell into his arms perfectly from what they told me. Mom would have rather died than spend one more second away from him, much less another life time." Ryan was grim and stoic as he told the story, and when he was finished there was numbness to the silence that followed.

"Christ …" The Lieutenant scrubbed his face at the Brothers Grim like fairy tale ending.

"What the hell happened?"

* * *

The frigid night sky was glistening with a million stars that sparkled like mini Christmas lights decorating a wide, endless shadowed ceiling. The soft crunching of grass echoed down the abandoned nature trail that sat across from the Connor and Cotton houses. Amongst the trees, the wind whistling through the rocks, a beautiful girl walked through the small forest in search of John, who had to flee an outraged posse of offended men and women dressed up as hard candy. Wandering through the woods wasn't a problem for Cameron, though it wasn't preferred for a girl of her age and looks. She hoped a rapist wouldn't jump out at her. John needed her full attention, and she wouldn't like to have to bury a body tonight.

"You sure you're not an angel?"

A familiar voice called to her from somewhere in the dark, Cameron searched for a moment before finding John sitting in a clearing amongst millions of clovers.

"I'm a machine sent back in time to protect you … by you." She answered the slightly sober sounding teenager.

"Is that your subtle way of saying I'm not god?" he laughed sadly.

The girl tilted her head. "It is what it is …" she answered in a low honest tone.

"I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you, especially with the way you look in that starlight." John protested with a smile. In the dim illumination provided by the night sky, Cameron's skin and hair seemed to shimmer as if an otherworldly glow was coming from somewhere deep inside her.

"Oh …" Cameron examined her body, then back at John. "Is that a bad thing?" She asked.

John just shook his head slowly. "No … there are a lot worst things in this universe to be transfixed on." His voice was low and captured as he caught her eyes for a second.

After a moment Cameron made her way toward him and observed the area that he was lounging in, for a beat she frowned before sliding smoothly in the clovers right beside him.

"Sarah is looking for you." She straightened her short skirt, resting her palms in her lap.

"I know …" he said stretching out into the three leaved plants. Cameron watched a moment and decided to mimic the motion settling next to him, and looking up at the extra visible field of stars above.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked turning to look at him.

"Thinking … at least as much as the punch will let me." He answered her with a small laugh. Both teens lay in silence listening to the sound of wildlife scurry and making noises in the woods.

"I've been thinking about something Derek said to me." John blurted out finally. "He said that in the future … everyone would die for me." He turned to Cameron, as if looking for confirmation.

She tightened her cheek "There is a strong loyalty to you from your men." Cameron nodded. However she noticed that her comment didn't seem to help whatever was weighing on her best friend's mind.

John shifted sadly and put his hands behind his head. Cameron tried to understand what was so uncomfortable about the statement.

"Is that not to your liking?" she asked tenderly, guessing at the teens qualms.

"No it's not that …" John trailed off.

Cameron nodded and looked back up at the stars. There was a silence that engulfed them as John struggled with what he wanted to say. Seeing the internal conflict raging inside the young man lying next to her, Cameron decided to wait for him to tell her whatever it was that was kicking around in his head. After several moments John spoke somberly.

"There is no one left for me in the future, is there?" He asked, not looking at the expressionless beauty next to him. Cameron paused at the future general's comment then spoke.

"When I left … there was no one." She answered honestly. John let out a choke as if what she had said to him was a piece of ice he had touched with bare skin.

"You see, there it is …" he sighed after a moment. "Everyone is ready to die for me, but no one ever thinks what it would mean for me. Everyone saying they'd die for me is the same thing as them saying that they wouldn't hesitate to leave me." As the sorrowful teen spoke a single inebriated tear fell from his eye.

"They leave me … everyone leaves me eventually." He sniffled, wiping away the droplet of water lingering on his cheek. Watching the emotional scene in front of her, Cameron sat up and looked down on John with her eyes flaring purposefully.

"I won't leave you, John."

He was captivated by the sheer beauty of the girl's shimmering glow and her look of determination. Motivated by what he needed to hear and, without thinking his hands undid her starry cape and slid it off her bare shoulders. His hands traced the smooth skin before he pulled her on top of him, their mouths close together, and eyes locking.

"I'll never leave you … ever.

Time had stopped for John and in that moment everything he had feared, everything he wasn't certain about the machine over him. All the times he wondered if Cameron will soon be the only thing he will have left … all of it went away, because if the world ended tomorrow and Cameron was all he had left, he couldn't be content enough.

Running his hands through satiny curls, John pulled his guardian angel into a passionate kiss.

Overhead a shooting star glided across the sky above the intimate couple that lay in the clearing.

* * *

Ryan put his thumb on his soul patch and rubbed it in a quirk that Derek had seen Kyle do a million times when he was trying to put something hard to swallow into words. With a creak of a seat Ryan leaned back into the shadows.

"A couple of months from now …" Ryan began, his face unrecognizable in the dark. "Something is going to happen, and Sarah is going to be caught by the police and put in prison." He said with a sigh.

"Wait … what is this _something_ that's going to happen?" Derek glared at the normal cryptic Connor crap that John used to feed him.

"I don't know … the old man would never talk about." Ryan admitted with the same annoyance. After a pause the soldier pressed on. "When she's there, she's going to be approached by a doctor named Serena Kogen, the doctor is going to ask her to donate bone marrow for an experiment that will help save an infant's life, and because she thinks she is going to die in prison … Sarah's going to agree." Ryan said ominously.

Derek shifted in his seat at the story.

"It's a trick, isn't it?" he asked fearing where the story was going. Ryan scoffed bitterly.

"You know, I use to think that too … until I learned that when I was an infant I got deathly sick and my mother took me to see a woman who gave me a bone marrow transplant, you wanna know who that Doctor was?" Ryan asked with a grit of his teeth.

"Kogen?"

"Dr. Serena _fucking_ Kogen" he confirmed.

"Son of a bitch …" Derek grunted taking a swig of his beer to calm his nerves as he remembered all the missions he had been on in which they had crossed Skynet experimentation labs, and then he imagined the pain and fear on Sarah's face as they probed and prodded her for experiments sake.

"What happened to Sarah …?" He asked with a tedious concern. Ryan shook his head at the question.

"I don't know … I don't know what they did with the original body." He sighed sadly.

"What …?" Derek had a blinding anger in his blood at the thought of Skynet not only replicating Sarah's skin, but tossing her body into the fire like garbage. Ryan held up his hand to halt Derek not only physically but mentally in order to get him to hear what he was saying.

"In 2029, Dad sent Blair to get me from North Africa … He said that he needed me for a mission. He never said what it was, just that I needed to take a strike team into a Skynet complex and rescue some prisoners. We went into the complex and found no prisoners, just mutilated corpses. The machines that did it were pulling out when we caught up with them several clicks to the south." There was restrained anger from Ryan, who spoke bitterly about the mutilated prisoners. "It was an ugly fight … we wiped each other out. I was searching the field for survivors when I came across this girl that was a little younger than me. She was half dressed, and this T-600 was bearing down on her. I blasted its head off, then went down to see who she was and …" Ryan sighed and rested his nose on a propped knuckle.

"It was Sarah … wasn't it?" Derek finished the sentence for the younger soldier. Ryan scoffed and hunched down in his chair.

"God … Derek you should have seen her." he rubbed his face. "She was so beautiful … it hurt to look at her." He shook his head. "At that moment I knew why they kept her alive and not anyone else, I knew what they wanted her to do." He let out a regretful sigh.

"You let her live." The scruffy veteran somehow commiserated with the younger man.

"She didn't know what was going on, to her she had just been put to sleep for a procedure in the hospital and woke up in the future … hell she thought that she was still thirty three and not nineteen." Ryan laughed at the memory. There was a regretful pause before the soldier spoke again.

"I made the decision several minutes later that I was going to protect her … I told myself that I was going to investigate a little farther before I put her lights out." Ryan shook his at the line of thinking.

"You balked." Derek made a statement not a question as he drank his beer. Ryan cleared his throat and pushed his bangs out his eyes.

"I loved her more then I'd like to admit … and I finally fooled myself that this _clone _was the real Sarah in replicated body and I swore I was going to protect her and love her no matter what, because Skynet couldn't force the great Sarah Connor to do anything." There was an ironic chuckle at the end of the soldier's statement as if he had told a bad joke. "Shared my food and sleeping mat with her, held her close every night. Christ … I even chased her across a flipping desert when she was kidnapped by bandits." Ryan scoffed at his stupidity.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up about it … She was your blood and people do stupid things for the family we love." The junior officer consoled.

"We linked up with the 132nd in Mexico near some artificial jungle surrounding this river. We ended up getting swept up in a pitched battle in the Jungle." Ryan paused for a second and he leaned back again with a creak. "It was a bloody mess … Metal was all over the perimeter. Before the night was over we fought them hand to hand. But she fought there beside me, never left my side once … she got injured and I carried her up a hill where we barred ourselves in this old mission church, and when things looked grim I drugged her and hid her from the machines." Ryan took a breath and cleared his throat. "I uh … got captured and put in prison … compliments of Mom, who ordered me captured and not dead." Ryan snorted with a shake of his head.

"And the clone?" Derek asked though he knew what was coming. The room was coated in silence for a moment.

"Lauren Fields found her … sent her back to home plate." There was a numbed tone to his voice. "Dad thought I was dead, everyone thought I was dead and … she was sitting on his lap and had her in his arms, holding on to her for dear life when …" Ryan cleared his throat and shook his head.

He spoke after a sniffle. "She broke his neck …" There was a mournful silence that fell over the men in the house as Derek comprehended what had just heard.

"I … I can't believe it … I just can't, you know?" He shifted in his seat.

"It always got me that she wasn't faking these memories, or her situation … Sarah Connor was in there … I swear on everything good and holy that it was her. Yet, in the end, she killed Dad … It makes me sick that Skynet can sit there and play with people's minds, sticking their memories on chips and just scrambling clone's brains and replacing them with the perverted memories of those long gone …" there was a disgusted tone to Ryan's voice.

"What does it stand to achieve from doing that?" Derek shrugged numbly. Brown eyes narrowed at the soldier.

"Skynet knows machines have become predictable, so what better way for it to break the pattern than to breed these clones and gather some of the instincts and memories of some of the world's worst serial killers, and put them in the brains of these clones … they're unpredictable and psychotic but with the right inception they'll kill whoever it wants." Ryan sighed.

Derek gritted his teeth in hatred. "Is that why you're here … you think that someone is after Sarah?" He asked. Ryan shifted with a creek.

"I'm not sure why I'm here … it just seems to me that as long as I can keep her safe … as long as I can keep their hands off her … history won't repeat itself. But I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibly that you'll run into one of these psychopaths eventually." Ryan shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about that … we got a machine with us and she'll be liable to snap some necks, it's all they're good for anyway." Derek nodded as if consoling himself about Sarah's safety more than Ryan.

The younger officer gave Derek a dark glare. "You of all people should know that it doesn't take a genius to sneak past a machine." He raised an eyebrow. Derek glared at the subtle jab thrown his way. Ryan smiled smugly at the man's catch and snorted. After a moment a sense of finality overcame the soldiers in the room as was their conversation.

"I guess I should be shoving off …" Ryan sighed. Sentimentality, not only for John's only child, but for those of his family, overcame Derek as the soldier stood up, rearming his pistol and holstering the weapon with the cocky gun fight spin he always did, almost subconsciously now.

"You know I probably could get Sarah to let you stay for a while if we tell her who you are." Derek knew the moment that his comment left his mouth that the likelihood of that statement was probably in the same vein as pigs flying.

"Maybe another time …" Ryan gave an amused "bullshit" look at the man. Both officers walked to the door and exited the house to the large patio. Derek gave Ryan a knowing look that this might be the last time he saw him again.

"You shouldn't go it alone, kid … it's why you have family." He advised to the tortured man in front him. Ryan dipped his head a moment.

"Yeah, well, I think it's what's best for me if I stay away. Especially, since you're the only person in this house that I haven't buried with my own two hands." He said with a dark sadness as he looked up with brooding brown eyes. Seeing the concerned look in Derek's face, Ryan snorted a sigh and lightened his face.

"A man is always in need of a good friend …" He stuck his hand out to Derek. The scurry soldier smiled at the gesture.

"A man is always in need of good blood …" Derek gave Ryan a knowing look as he took the hand.

"Not my big _fucking lie _to tell." Ryan responded to his silent accusation about being Kyle's grandson. Derek nodded and shook the hand firmly. A silent pause took both as the departure lacked what the meeting was.

"I usually would say something witty … but I guess there's little to laugh at these days." With one last look Ryan stuck his hands in his pockets and walked broodingly into the shadows alone, leaving Derek with a heavy mind and heart.

* * *

Sarah was about to have a heart attack as she walked quickly from Kacy's house to the divide between the two homes.

"_Where is he … where has he gone?"_

The Grecian Queen was in the middle of a meltdown after an hour of searching when she heard scraping crunches from the woods.

"Thank God." Sarah sighed in relief when she saw Cameron supporting a limp John's weight as she walked him toward his awaiting mother.

Sarah rushed to his side slinging his arm over her shoulder despite the fact that Cameron didn't really need her help, but it made her feel important and needed. "Where did you find him?" Sarah asked as she lolled her boys head into the crook of her neck and out of Cameron's.

"He … fell asleep in a clearing in the woods." Cameron answered hesitantly.

"Momma … a fifth grader stole my candy … again." John said groggily into Sarah's neck.

There was a light smile that graced the woman lips at the memory of the yearly bullying her boy received from older kids on Halloween when he was little. "It's okay Baby … Momma will buy us better candy than you got." She spoke in a light tone of affection, gently reassuring him. Sarah tried to ignore the strange look Cameron gave her cueing voice. "When you're a mother of a teenager … you get what you can." She said harshly to the cyborg. Then after a good look over she narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you have a cape … and a tiara?" she asked suspiciously.

Cameron went into defensive mode which entailed going to robot mode.

"I used the cape as a pillow for John when he refused to leave and the tiara was always loose." She lied with a mask of emotionless monotone. Despite it all Sarah looked even more suspicious than before. After an awkward moment Cameron ran a secondary plan. "I'll go back and retrieve the items." The beautiful girl released John and walked away from Sarah a little quicker.

As Cameron walked into the woods she failed to notice an obese man with smeared clown's makeup give a painful smile and snap his teeth with a grind. Happily, he began to hum a familiar carousel jingle and skipped deeper into the woods on to the girls trail.

When Sarah entered the house, she was all but dragging John who had snuggled up to her in the event of his reversion back to him being five from the mystery binge that came from the spiked punch that she and Kacy had discovered several minutes after the teens disappearance. While the adult in her would like nothing better than to be morally outraged at the sight of her child being drunk and disorderly, doing the robot in public being chief amongst them., there was a part of her that was happy at his sleepy reversion and wished John was five again.

She missed the days when it was just them and, while she felt guilty about it, she also missed being his only friend. Back then, he would come home from school excited to see her, she would teach him the things he need to know in the form of games to which he didn't pick up on until later. But in those days between teachers she couldn't have been happier in her entire life.

Limping inside the house she found Derek sitting alone in the dark, looking at nothing. There was a dark mood that he was infecting the house with.

"Reese …" Sarah called with a grunt as John snoozed in the crook of her neck. Derek blinked rapidly and saw her with a limp John in her arms.

"What happened?" He shot out of the recliner and rushed to John. Sarah frowned at the strange panic from Derek and gave him a "Seriously" look.

"Your little friend spiked the punch, and John nearly chugged the entire bowl …" She grunted as John's extra weight evened out with the soldier's help.

"Someone should kick that kid's ass …" Derek growled. Without a word the two walked up the stairs carrying a mumbling John.

"Where do you want him?" Derek asked as they reached the long upstairs hallway. Sarah sighed a moment looking at John's room.

"No … Put him in my room, I'll sleep with him tonight and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Sarah said shuffling her feet to the master bedroom. However, Derek didn't budge. Looking up, the woman saw the scruffy soldier hesitate at the command, as if she had just asked him to throw John onto the middle of the road for the night.

"Is there a problem with me taking care of my boy?" she asked hotly, not liking the worried look he was giving her. "Cause if there is I want to hear it, Reese?" she growled dangerously feeling as if Derek thought that John was somehow not safe with her. Her dangerous words seemed to snap Derek back to reality.

"No … no problem" He shook his head easily, and blinked away his line of thought. With a tense silence the parental figures in John's life carried him to Sarah's room.

* * *

Cameron walked back through the field and found her missing items. They were pressed into a depression where two teens once laid together. The girl touched her lips pensively as she kneeled, still feeling the warm spot where the two kissed until John unwittingly passed out.

There were many thoughts and thing running through Cameron's mind as she stared at the spot of crushed clovers. She had no idea what had prompted her to say those things to John, or even what prompted her to kiss him. It was just one of those things that felt as if it were just something she should do. It was hard to put into words what engaged the behavior, but a strong part of her didn't want John to be alone.

She remembered the John of the future and how when he would finally sleep after two day cycles without. How she would strip to panties and a tank top for him, but he would never have sex with her; but simply hold on to her for dear life. She would sit there at night and watch him sleep as he would stroke her bare belly in his sleep and wonder what caused such behavior. But now she understood that she was his only friend and confidant. There was a pang of what could only be described as regret for leaving him all alone in the future. Cameron cast her eyes down as she picked up her cape and held it in her hands pensively. In the dark of the night the beautiful girl swore that she would never let that happen to this John. As long as she was alive, Cameron wouldn't let John be alone, no matter what happened.

Standing up to leave she tucked the cape under her arm and put on the tiara again. With purposeful steps she began to walk back to the house.

**ENCRYPTION ERROR …**

Suddenly Cameron's HUD fazed in and out with a static background.

**DATA CORRUPTION EMMINENT …**

There wasn't enough time for her to even run a failsafe program before everything went black.

On the wind, the sound of a grinder organ played a mechanical jingle caught the girl's ear.

"What's that?"

an innocent little girl voice called in the dark as the cyborg went toward the music that was usually used by gypsies to make their monkey's dance. Cameron disappeared into the dark, following the music with a wondrously innocent smile and a giggle.

* * *

The party seemed to be in full swing when Ryan walked to his motorcycle. He knew it would be polite to say good night to the host, but he soon wished he hadn't when he was chastised for not only running off, but for not screwing his grandmother's brains out.

"_Awkward …"_

When he reached his large sleek bike he mounted it but paused at the house next to the party. He stared sadly at it knowing that the three people he used to love more than anything lived there in blissful ignorance of the sorrow that befell their future selves. There wasn't much left in the young man anymore. He had buried everyone he had ever cared for and the only thing he wanted now was to make sure that the people he loved were safe. But burning brightly in the Ryan's heart was a need, almost an obsession, to get revenge for what happened to his mother and father. But most of all he wanted justice for Sarah, to clear the woman's name that had become a curse in the future.

"I'll stop it …" he said looking at the house with determination.

With a dark spark in his eyes Ryan reached for his helmet when something caught his ear. It was a grinding tune that sounded perversely eerie and disjointed, much like a carousel. Curiosity getting the better of him, he dismounted and walked toward the forested area. He looked into the bent and ominous shadows of the trees, hearing the music originating from the woods. With a curious raise of his eyebrow, Ryan activated his mother's old HUD, with a faint blue glow his eye wired.

"Son of a Bitch!"

Ryan suddenly felt like his brain was on fire at the sound of the music. His eye flashed blue on and off as he saw static through sensors. He dropped to his knees and cradled his head. With a grit of his teeth the soldier fought through the pain and shut off Cameron's neural network. He panted as the pain left him as soon as he finished the action leaving him slightly numb, like a burn victim.

"The hell was that?" He growled blinking and rubbing his eye.

Through the woods an innocent giggle carried with an echo. Despite the foreign display of the emotion, Ryan knew that giggle from anywhere.

"Mom …?" he frowned getting to his feet.

Not liking the idea of creepy, maniacal music around his mother he went to investigate. Walking in the dark, and staying close to the tree, he moved silently, stalking the growing grinder organ music.

He paused when he saw something shimmer in the night. Creeping a little farther into the woods he could hear the grinding gypsy music loud and clear. Sidling on the trunk of a tree, Ryan saw his mother smiling happily and dancing with tight spins and graceful leaps to the music. It was breathtaking to see, especially the way the moonlight hit her.

When Ryan was young he would lie in bed and watch his mother practice her ballet, each time promising that he would stay awake to see her finish. But the gentle sway of her movements and the grace of her dancing always seemed to put him under faster than a glass of warm milk. Even now, watching her dance was putting him to sleep.

Hearing an amused laugh the soldier turned to see a large and robust shadow jerking up and down to the tune of the music, and laughing at the dazed girl with a look of pure power, almost as if he were the one controlling her movements. Reaching into his jacket, Ryan pulled out his father's gun and turned, slowly aiming it at the shadow. Just as he got a good shot, the gun shifted in his hand and glinted.

Immediately the shadow let out a blood curling scream of horror that took Ryan aback at the sheer terror and alarm in its voice, freezing at such a loud and jolting display Ryan paused till he heard the giggling that followed and then he knew it was supposed to scare him.

He fired two shots at the enormous top-hatted person, but the figure had already disappeared with a familiar childlike hyena laugh. Ryan came out of hiding and walked into the eerie and twisted shadows of the forest surrounding him. He held his weapon in a ready position looking around a moment. He heard distracted giggles followed by a smug throaty laugh.

Wheeling around Ryan turned to find the obese clown from earlier standing behind a blank Cameron with his hands around her waist using her as human shield. Ryan kept a serious death mask, which the clown didn't seem to like, so to get a rise out of the soldier the clown blew a raspberry on the girls bare neck. Without hesitation the black haired officer opened fire, but missed as the clown gave another belly laugh and ran away in a slapstick comedic way and disappeared into the dark. Seeing Cameron collapse on the ground, Ryan rushed to his future mother's side.

"Mom … Mom!" He tapped her cheek but her eyes remained blank and motionless, her smooth nylon clad body was limp. Ryan bit his lip and after another sweep he picked the girl up off the ground with a strained grunt, lolling her head into the crook of his neck and carried her out of the woods, unaware that a clown on a tree branch looked on with a displeasured face of a spoiled child that didn't get his way.

* * *

It only took several minutes for Sarah to change out of her dress and toss on a ratty, well used tank top. She looked into the bathroom mirror with a sigh. It took her a moment to decide not to wash off her make up and leave her elegant braids and bun the way it was for the night.

"_I spent too much time on this today …" _

She walked out of the restroom and padded into her room and halted. John was asleep in her bed which she was expecting, but what she didn't expect was to see Derek still sitting on the bed with a fatigue shirt, and boots in hand staring at him as he slept in a fatherly way. The sight warmed and broke her heart at the same time. It was times like these that she wanted to tell Derek that he wasn't alone. That the man that they both loved had left something of his behind that both of them can love and cherish together. But she just couldn't bring herself to trust him, despite what they did that evening and the way she wanted him, she just couldn't bring herself to trust him. She just can't trust anyone.

"Reese …" she cleared her throat to get his attention. Derek turned to her and momentarily to the satin panties she was wearing to which he cast down his eyes quickly. Sarah blushed slightly not thinking that he would still be there when she came out. But the modest side of her went away quickly.

"_This is my room damn it, I'll wear or not wear what I want." _

She made a bold stride to her vanity in defiance of her slight shyness in front of the soldier. "What are you still doing in here?" she asked dangerously. Derek looked lost for words and almost sorrowful.

"I'm sorry … I um …" cleared his throat and shook his head with a sigh. "I just wanted to make sure he was alright … that both of you are going to be alright." He said not looking her in the eye.

"Why wouldn't we be?" She looked over at him in a "you're not telling me everything" glare. He turned back to John and shook his head.

"No reason … just got a bad feeling that's all." Derek sighed.

There was a pang of guilt at Sarah's hard ass attitude toward the soldier who seemed worried for her and John's safety. With a bite to her lip she walked toward him to find a worried look on Derek's face as he shifted in pensive thought.

"Hey …" she walked around until she was in front of him. "We're going to be fine … I'm going to be fine." She said looking down into his eyes. Derek cleared his throat, and shook his head again with watery eyes. There was something about Derek Reese in tears that brought tenderness out of her. Before she knew it she was on her knees in front of him with her hands on his scruffy face. "We're going to be fine …" she said forcefully, Derek avoided her. "Derek … look at me." She commanded. He shuddered a breath and looked into green orbs. "Nothing is going to happen." She said seriously.

After a moment Derek got control of himself and his eyes glowed with fiery determination that stole Sarah's breath.

"You're right …" he said passionately, taking Sarah's waist like before. "Nothing is going to happen to you … because I won't let it … as long as I'm breathing, nothing is going to happen to either of you." His voice was stern and forceful, and suddenly Sarah was in a motel room in 1984 listening to another Reese pledge his life to her. He stood and helped her up to her feet and without giving her a chance to protest his passionate claims he went for the door. Like being chained to him Sarah followed.

"Derek." She said fragilely, like the eighteen year old debutant in the Tiki motel. Derek turned to look at her. She took his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips fully. He was taken back at first but he soon returned the kiss passionately wrapping his arms around her waist. The contact was like a consuming flame or a spark of electricity that lit the lights on a Christmas tree.

The sound of the front door opening and closing was like a frigid wind that brought them out of their kiss and into reality.

"I should go check that out" he said breathlessly. Sarah nodded in agreement, feeling his fingers absently stroking the silky skin of her lower back. With a deep breath he gulped and looked into her eyes.

"Goodnight" was all she could find the words to say.

"Yeah …" Derek grunted as they released each other and took several steps back. "Night …" he nodded.

Sarah gently closed her door on the older Reese boy. She slumped on the frame and touched her lips gingerly.

* * *

**SYSTEM REBOOT …**

**5**

**4**

**3**

**2**

**1**

A whirring of cybernetics announced the return of Cameron's consciousness. She jolted quickly and snapped around to find that she was no longer standing in the woods, but in her house. And not only that, but laid comfortably on the couch with a throw pillow under her head and a blanket spread over her.

She ran a system diagnostic to find everything intact. She puzzled at what had happened. There was a moment that she feared that she had gone bad again and attacked John and even worse that he had brought her back again, but she tossed that theory away because she sadly would have remembered the incident if that had been the case.

"Hey!" Cameron turned to the voice on the stairs. Derek was standing there looking at her with a weird expression. "What are you doing lying on the couch?" he asked.

Cameron gave a blank look of confusion.

"I don't know."

* * *

The bedroom was quiet as Sarah flipped the page in her book as she lay comfortably under the sheets next to John who was in a drunken sleep/coma. She smiled happily rubbing her thumb against his forehead a moment before going back to her book.

Unlike what John would like to admit, this wasn't anything new for them. It was almost a ritual for the both since he was born, that they sleep in the same bed together. The night before Cromartie attacked them in New Mexico, John and her had fallen asleep watching TV in her bedroom and when they first rented their house on the hill, they had shared the bed as was the tradition with each new place, each temporary home. It was always a silent reminder that the home can be burned down, that they can lose everything they own, but they'll always have each other.

After another hour of reading she closed the book and stored it away, as she went to turn off the lamp on her night stand, John stirred.

"Momma …" He called, trapped in a chemically induced flashback. Sarah smiled at the sigh like voice.

"Yes baby …" she said gently.

"Do you have to go away again?" He asked with a sad breath.

The question hit her heart like a wild pitch. Tears stung her eyes as she turned off the light and pulled him in her arms.

"No …" Sarah sniffled, snuggling up to him and holding him tightly.

"I'll never leave you again."

* * *

The sound of a blues guitar played by heartache itself echoed through the haze of a shady smoke filled bar. Its wooden floorboards covered with peanut shells and ashes of put out cigarettes. The Neon Moon was a walking health code violation with empty drinks and dried blood from a fight on the tables. However, a health inspector would be less than welcome by those who frequented the place as was anyone with a position of authority in society. The Moon wasn't the kind of bar that the pop princesses sang about hanging with their girlfriends at, and not the kind that the celebrities frequented.

The mostly rundown and empty building was dark with the only light coming from behind the bar, and the stage currently occupied by a sweating old black man sitting on a stool with an electric guitar, sun glasses and a bowler hat. His fingers were going a mile of minute, turning a deep past sorrow into sweet music.

The only other light on was over a lone pool table where a raven haired soldier of the future stood across the game table with a pool stick looking at a man dressed in a Zoot suit. The man leaned over the table and aimed his shot as Ryan Connor drank out of a frosted mug, watching the angle. Just before the man took his shot, he became distracted and pressed the stick without thinking. He gave an angry yell as the ball just missed the magic number eight and he scratched, with the white orb sinking the pocket. He tossed the cue down in frustration to which Ryan lifted his eyebrow at the action.

Within a few moments the leather jacketed officer reset his shot and with an ice cold precision and the help of a thirty year old neural network he aced the winning shot, ending the game. The man gave a growl and shook his head in disgust and left, leaving his stack of fifties and a cool hundred on the edge of the table.

The soldier scoffed and walked around and collected his winnings. As he stacked the pieces of paper he looked to a person who had distracted Jack on his last shot. She was a beautiful, raven-haired, college aged young woman with thick, long black waves and a milky complexion. She wore a gold embroidered Greek goddess costume. Ryan lifted his mug in a toasting thanks to which she smiled and lifted her own with a nod.

* * *

The sound of panting cut across the dark back alley of the bar, followed by a fragile whimpered moan of a female coming to a climax of her orgasm. Next to a pile of crates full of Nitro; Ryan redid his jeans with one hand while another held a trembling raven haired girl in the other. She buried her face in his chest panting as she rode the last waves of ecstasy that had tightened her gorgeous body.

"Are you okay?" Ryan chuckled as the girl sucked in some air, still shivering in his arms.

"I've never done this before …" she admitted with a twitch to her voice. For some reason the older of the two felt a sudden twinge of guilt for possibly deflowering some girl in the back of a bar.

"What do you mean?" He asked suddenly getting addicted to the feel of the cool skin of her bare stomach against his palm.

"I mean being fucked in the back of a bar by the grandson of the woman I was cloned from." She admitted with a sly smile at his finger tracing her belly button.

Ryan snapped his head to the girl whose face was shadowed in the dark. But he saw her in the outline of her paled figure. She had hardened green eyes and a beauty mark on her right cheek. Her milky skin was soft and smooth; there were no blemishes or scars. Her black hair was long and thick and she had an almost fragile look to her. Ryan tossed her away from him and backed away until he hit a dumpster.

"No, you're dead … you died in the future." He said in disbelief. He placed his head in his hands and shaking away the face and the feeling of the body he somehow knew felt hauntingly familiar. "You're not real …" Ryan said shakily.

"Hey …" he felt hands touch his shoulders tenderly. "Hey what's wrong?" the voice asked.

Slowly he looked up to see a topless version of the girl from the bar. Her doe blue eyes looked slightly frightened at the soldier's response to her touch. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief and gulped.

"I'm … I'm sorry." He said with a sigh distractedly pulling her top up and kissed her chest. The girl was still scared but the tenderness he showed her right after his strange episode went a long way to reassuring her.

Just as the two were about to do the awkward dance of "where do we go from here" the sound of whistling came down the dark alley followed by clicks.

The tune turned the air in Ryan's lungs ice cold as he recognized it from the woods. Looking down the narrow alley he saw a shadow of an obese man in a top hat and tails skipping and clicking his heels looking like a perverse "Jack the Ripper".

"Run …" He said pushing her behind him. The girl looked confused as she saw the shadow coming closer. When she didn't move Ryan pushed her by her stomach to give her a start, after another pause she took off.

Walking into the middle of the alley, the soldier placed his hands in his pockets and observed the clown who stopped several yards from him. There was a drawn out pause as the two looked at each other, one with interest the other blankly. The clown's shadow looked large and menacing from the reflection of the lone street lamp between them.

"Evening …" Ryan nodded to the clown.

There was a high pitched growl of anger, like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum from the clown. With a huff the clown twirled his cane and drew a blade from the hilt. Ryan in turn drew his pistol and fired three shots at the clown, one between the eyes, one in the heart, and one in the lower stomach.

Each bullet hit a fazing, red force field bubble and was stopped cold, despite the force pushing the fat man back. Then with the sound akin to an electrical device shorting, the bullets dropped with clinks to the ground smoking. Ryan glared at the clown, his father's weapon clicking as he lowered it. Suddenly his eye whirred.

**Combat scan complete …**

**Skynet R&D "Hydra" J5 Personal Force Field (Prototype): Stops all projectile gun fire. **

"_Suggestions"_

**Reevaluate Mission. **

"Awesome" Ryan stated flatly taking a step back from the maniacal man.

The clown laughed and brandished his cane sword and charged forward at the soldier. Ryan got into a fighting stance as the clown took a swipe, it missed when he moved out of the way, but caught the pistol adding a new scar to the chrome barrel and sending it out of its owner's hand, skidding to the side. The clown turned and slashed at the officer's legs to which he jumped up over, countering with a sweeping kick mid-air that the roly-poly clown ducked under. Spinning once back on the ground, Ryan charged, staying low and tight moving forward. The clown aimed for a decapitation, but Ryan rolled under and barely escaped the back hand slice while leaping onto the closed dumpster in one motion.

Once on the high ground the last of the future Connors took a jump off the large dumpster and aimed a flying kick for the clown. At seeing the motion the obese clown used the flat side of the blade and caught the kick; like a step, to which he tossed the soldier off the sword behind him. Ryan landed with a roll to his feet and turned to face his attacker.

The clown spun to slash the soldier but Ryan caught the arm holding the wrist, while placing pressure on the elbow, rendering the arm useless. With the quick defensive move the clown lost blood pressure in his arm and dropped the blade. Then, with a strain, Ryan flipped the clown over.

The clown somersaulted like a ball; backwards and with an inhuman force, speared the soldier in the chest slamming him into the side of the dumpster back first. Ryan slid into a sitting position against the metal container at the blow to his back. The clown ran up and tried to stomp on the officer's lung, but Ryan caught the foot and responded by slumping and kicking the robust man backwards. The clown responded with a tight clench of his teeth and a grind while Ryan got up and took a martial arts stance.

Juking away from the clown, Ryan engaged in a lighting quick martial arts punch and block exchange with the smeared makeup killer. The fists made a slashing sound as they cut through the air and made thuds and bass like slams as each fighter blocked the other's attack. Each move was countered and leading to a brutal tangling of arms. Ryan's sleek and finesse fighting style was reminiscent of his mother's aptitude for ballet.

Finally the clown made contacted with Ryan's face with an open palm sending him backwards. While reeling, the clown rammed his shoulder into the soldier sending him back once again into the dumpster with his back slamming into the metal. With a chuckle the clown head butted the soldier. Dazed momentarily the clown grabbed the soldier by his leather jacket and tossing him into the middle of the alley. A dazed Ryan rolled to where his pistol lay.

Seeing that he was on the cusp of victory, the fat carnie decided to take his time by humming the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" as he collected the sword cane and began closing the gap on the limp soldier. Suddenly a brick was tossed like a fast ball in front of the clown landing with a tumultuous crack that sent a spray of debris. With a look to the roof the clown spotted a monster like man in tank top and military clothing and a metallic mask.

"HE'S MY KILL NOT YOURS, FREAK!"

The booming voice roared over the slippery back alley. The clown pouted and stuck his lower lip out at the large mass of muscle and rage.

CRACK

CRACK

Two gun shots rang out into the tense silence and were followed by the sound of motorcycle boots pounding in a dead sprint. The clown turned back to watch Ryan running quickly for a nearby water front. With a giggle the clown looked up to see that the monster had also disappeared. The clown frowned in confusion till he heard the sound of water falling. With a lazy look behind him the clown saw a busted open water pipe gushing into an open crate of Nitro.

"That's not funny"

A large explosion rippled through the alley.

The ocean water was lit an orange and red from the inferno that covered the half a block of the mostly abandoned industrial district.

Out of the flames a singed fat man with a horrifically burned, smoking fleshy, stared at the waterfront; a painful smile from one side to a horribly blistered other. He looked over the water searching for any sign of the man responsible for his injuries. When the clown didn't find what he was searching for; he gave a hyena belly laugh and skipped off despite his nasty wounds and burns.

After a moment of quiet on the bay front the surface of the ocean bubbled slightly before Ryan appeared from below gasping for air. Panting a moment, he looked around him before swimming to a diver's ladder. After climbing it, he took several steps before collapsing on his back. After a moment of settling himself the sounds of sirens coming close got him to his feet and disappear into the night opposite the clown.

In a hidden cove the black haired goddess that was deflowered by Ryan watched the man who took her virginity take off. After a moment she was covered with mercury and transformed into a nineteen year old Sarah Connor. After another moment Weaver returned to her normal form and gave a smug smile.

"Like father like son …"

* * *

**Author's Notes **

**Alright … well I hope this gave you an idea about what's going to be happening to Ryan throughout the story. **

**Weavers last comment is important because if you remember the first journal entry from John in chapter two along with the fundamental change to John in South America you can kind of tell what happened, plus for all one of you that read Purpose, Ryan told Clone!Sarah about his time on the hunt with John and what happened to him. So expect Weaver to try something similar with Ryan. **

**Resistance Fighter slang …**

**Hotel California: Century Sector Prison **

**The Lost Highway: Any time and place that a Tech-Com Soldier is sent through the TDE. **

**Derek doesn't know that Cameron is Ryan's mom mainly because as said he never knew John's wife in the future. Also when Ryan say's Derek is the only person he hadn't buried in the house, Derek doesn't see Cameron as a person nor does he expect Ryan too either. **

**Next Chapter will have a heavy amount of Jameron in it so that's why I've sort played them on the down low. Also we'll see Riley go down a crazy dark road because of one of John's instincts next chapter.**

**R&R peeps. **


	6. Moon Dance

**Moon Dance**

**November 18th, 2008**

**Personal Entry # 35**

**It's been six years, and I still see her face. **

**She haunts me where ever I am. I can hear her voice; I can feel her touch. When I sleep, I can feel the phantom rise and fall of her stomach under my palm, and the warmth when I held her as we bedded down at night.**

**It's tearing me up inside, and I'm scared that these memories are like quicksand, the more I fight them, the more they'll consume me till I end up like the old man dreaming her into reality. **

**There's got to be something I can do to stop it, because if I don't then I'll end up just like her and Dad- crazy, obsessed, and solely dependent on the warmth and comfort of a shadow in my mind.**

**These days it feels like I'm balancing myself on a tight rope and if I fall …**

**There might never be a chance to get up again. **

"_When did the sound of the plasma cannons stop?" _

_That was what Ryan had been thinking as he laid flat on his back on something hard like a stone slab. His eyes were closed and he could hear a silent drip of water. The room he was currently in smelled musty and damp._

_All these things would have sent the young Lieutenant into a blind panic, that is, if it weren't for the comforting feeling of his head buried in the lap of a female with extra smooth skin. The hand smoothing his grown out hair gently didn't hurt either. _

_Letting out a breath Ryan blinked smoky eyes open to find a beautiful college-age girl with long, elegant black curls, milky skin, and a beauty mark on her right cheek. He smiled lightly at her and stirred, to which she gave a sad grin back continuing to stroke his hair. _

"_Hey … you made it out in one piece." He said sleepily. Sarah nodded with a guilty look, touching his face as if she had never felt stubble before. "How's the leg?" he asked turning to see a fairly nasty burn scar where a plasma bolt had burned through it._

"_They say it'll heal." The girl's voice sounded all the sudden fragile, as if she was almost a completely different person. Ryan nodded, and traced the wound lightly with his finger just to make sure she was right._

_It finally occurred to him that she wasn't wearing the standard issue Tech-Com fatigues he had left her in, but a simple cream slip. He had a slightly unnerved face when he remembered seeing that garb before. It wasn't the kind that was worn by any resistance member. He shot up into a sitting position to find himself in what could only be described as a dungeon cell with greenish-gray stone blocks with a flickering light above. _

"_What the hell is this?" He jumped to his feet, only to be dragged back by irons on his wrists that were attached to the stone slab where Sarah was sitting remorsefully._

"_I'm sorry …" the girl sounded as conflicted as she was sad. _

"_Where the hell am I?" Ryan shouted at her. "Sarah!" he yelled when she wouldn't answer him. Just then a metal door scraped open, and a familiar brown-eyed girl in the same garb as Sarah walked in stoically, and locked eyes with her child. _

"_I should have known you had something to do with this." He scoffed with disdain for Cameron as two T-800s walked into the room taking guard next to her. _

_Cameron tilted her head at her son and blinked. _"_I've saved your life …" she replied searching his eyes. Ryan gave her a dark look of contempt. _

"_Well forgive me if I don't get you a __**"Number One Mom"**__ mug." He shook his restraint to illustrate his point. The cyborg had a flash of hurt studying a face she helped create. _

_After a composing beat she turned to Sarah. _"_You're not supposed to be in here." She addressed the girl with a commanding stare. _

_It was at this comment that it hit Ryan that his traveling companion was not being imprisoned with him. He turned to Sarah who tried to avoid the betrayed look on the soldier's face._ _With pure outrage he snatched Sarah's arm and pulled her into him so he could look her in the eye. _

"_Why …?" he asked brokenly. Sarah eyes watered as if she was going to beg his forgiveness when a Terminator strode toward him. The machine cocked back and threw a fist at his face. _

_BEEP!_

BEEP!

"_**Scan Complete!" **_

Ryan startled awake from a large, leather command chair. In front of him were seven plasma computer screens organized in two stacked rows. All of the screens where streaming information or on mute with local news stations. The room around Ryan was a large concrete underground fallout shelter that was converted into a small command center and garage. Several yards behind him a black street racing motorcycle sat on an elevator platform.

On the other side of the room photos of a clown in a moth eaten top hat and tails were pinned to a bulletin board, along with old news clippings of a trail of murders circa 1947 committed by the notorious "Bonkers" a psychopathic clown. All of which were linked together by strings where the behavior and tendencies matched. Under the board sat a desk with an old police dossier on the murderer's patterns, coupled with a shrinks' report from Pescadero Asylum on their most tenured prisoner in many years.

"What do we have here?" He muttered, trying to clear the college aged girl from his mind as he typed on a master keyboard. On one of the screens two parallel lines appeared and started running.

"Oracle, start audio recording on full sensors." He called out loud.

On his request there was a chirp, followed by a familiar grinding carousal tune. Ryan watched the top line go squiggly as the music played. "Alright … run it through a Gold Wav." He commanded with a tired sigh. With another chirp a small loading bar appeared before the second line began to move followed by a small buzzing that echoed through the bunker. Ryan rubbed his soul patch with his thumb thoughtfully a moment.

"Oracle, confirm audio on tracer two." He typed several keys, bringing up the buzzing tracer line front and center on screen.

"_**Scanner's report a high pitched buzzing embedded subliminally into the full audio." **_ A female computer voice with a polished and educated English accent echoed through the bunker.

"Can you decipher purpose?"

"_**System indicates purpose is to manipulate a cybernetic frequency through audio tune." **_

Ryan lounged back in his chair and looked to a screen with a slow motion picture of a clown with small scanners tracing facial imprints and features.

"So that's how he was controlling her." He sighed to himself.

Suddenly a small alarm rang out on one of the screens.

"_**Warning: Target proximity alert detected …" **_

Ryan sat up and looked to the screen.

"Where?"

"_**Calhoun High School, formerly attended by tenth-grader Cameron Baum."**_

Ryan typed quickly bring up the school website where he found the reason the clown could be skulking around the high school.

**Fall Formal Dance Tonight! **

"Bitch whore …"

* * *

It was John Connor's opinion that anyone who thinks that machines can't be pissy or petty hasn't met Cameron Phillips. He wasn't sure what he had done to set the girl off, but the last three weeks, the entire Connor household had become a battlefield between the two teens.

It had started simply with a hangover from hell. At the Halloween party, that little astronaut punk spiked the punch bowl that apparently he was the only one who drank from.

But the unwarranted bloodshed began when he apologized to Cameron for anything he might have done that night, because he couldn't remember a damn thing, to which he reassured her that whatever he did, it didn't mean anything. He observed how dressed up she had gotten just for a lazy afternoon as he let her process the information. That's when she gave him the scariest look he had ever seen. Though calm going up the stairs, she slammed her door so hard it popped a hinge.

And so it began.

It started with a week of burned or undercooked breakfast, lunch, and dinners, followed by loud clacking in front of his bedroom door until four in the morning. Whenever he confronted her about it, all she did was give him a blank stare and wander away before he could finish his point.

Now in week two, John decided to fight back at the unwarranted abuse by reorganizing her room, and hiding her ballet slippers and purple jacket. Did he feel guilty when the cyborg turned over the entire house looking for them? Yes, yes he did. Did he feel incredibly childish for doing it? You bet your ass. But was it necessary? He thought so.

But what he didn't see coming was the swift and devastating retaliation in the form of a planted pregnancy test that just happened to be in John and Cameron's bathroom, where it could be easily spotted by his mom. When questioned about it, Cameron simply stated it was Riley's. Now John had to be chaperoned by Sarah whenever Riley came over. The maneuver was so low and brilliant he wasn't sure if wanted to kill her or give her a standing ovation.

But as John adjusted his bow tie he couldn't help but feel as if he was the one who had just one-upped Cameron. Because, even if it meant going to this lame fall formal dance with Riley, he knew his cybernetic rival couldn't go and it would piss her off when she couldn't do her job. His smugness was subsided momentarily by how good he looked in a tux as he stood in front of Sarah's bedroom mirror.

"Very nice …" Sarah lay in bed looking at him.

John smiled faintly at her reflection over his shoulder when he saw just how tired she looked. Sarah had been recovering from an infection she had caught from a cut she had received while checking out the ruined ballet studio. The studio which Cameron had taken a class with Dmitri's sister, when they were looking for the Turk. She had cut herself on a shattered mirror that had suffered the brunt of someone's shotgun duel.

In a manner of days John had gone from the rebellious teenager who wanted a normal life, to the six year old little boy who wanted nothing more than to hold his Mommy because he wanted her to be loved.

"Hey, I can skip out on this if you need me here …" he said sitting on the edge of the bed and looming over her. Sarah smiled warmly as she readjusted her head on the pillow, before she reached out and touched his face affectionately.

"No, I'll be fine. You go enjoy yourself … in moderation." She gave him a poignant look.

John reddened at her comment. "Come on, Mom, I already told you … it wasn't Riley's." John sighed at her. Sarah lifted an eyebrow at the alternative choice of which girl in the house it could be that owned the test kit, and a better question of why she would need it.

"I'm not going to win am I?" John sighed.

A smile graced the lips of the beautiful woman below him. "Nope" she shook her head. It warmed the young man to see his mother's brilliant smile again after what had seemed like an eternity since he had seen it last. They shared the moment for several beats before a knock on the door sounded through the house.

"I guess that would be for me." He shrugged with a sigh. Sarah nodded lowering her hands. John absently stroked Sarah's locks of raven hair that was splayed on the pillow. "You want me to call Derek to come stay with you until I get back." He asked.

Sarah shook her head with a weird look. "I don't think that's a good idea John …" she said with slight nervous breath. John chuckled lightly at her shy, school girl face.

"Why not …?" He looked suddenly suspicious, as there had been a noticeable absence of the scruffy soldier lately. Sarah paused as if looking for an excuse.

"I got girlie around for the time being … so I don't think you need to call Derek." She replied with a nod. John twitched an eyebrow but decided to leave it be.

With a deep breath he leaned down and kissed Sarah's jaw, then her bare shoulder before standing up.

"Have fun"

"Can't make any promises …"

As John reached the stairs he saw Derek sitting on the couch, with a beer in hand and a plate of hotdogs as he watched a football game, while Riley sat on the other side of the couch with a look of interest at him. It was something that John hadn't really seen before; it was as if she had a longing for some sort of paternal comfort from the man who seemed to ignoring her as he munched greedily on his hot dogs.

"Hey what are you doing here?" John came down the steps with a frown at the man.

Derek scoffed at the comment. "I live here …" he said stoically. "But to answer your question the mach …" Derek paused at the blond who gave him a smile. "I mean Cameron called me." He said going back to his food.

"Why would she do that?" John asked. Derek shrugged at the question.

"Said your mom was sick, and that she shouldn't be alone, which I agree." He gave John a glare of disapproval at his attire. John let Derek's criticism bounce off him, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"Hey John …" Riley called attention to herself in irritation at the two males ignoring her.

John lifted an eyebrow at Riley's appearance. Her long, honey hair was done up in a bun, and she wore a sequined black dress with lacy straps. Her sparkling lip gloss shined in the illumination of the television.

"Wow … look at you." John chuckled. "Who would have thought there was a lady under there?" he smiled. Riley played the comment off with some harmless outrage.

"Speak for yourself …" she stood and circled the young man, placing her hand on his shoulder as she walked around him. "Who are you and what have you done with John Baum?" she giggled.

"It's Baum … John Baum." He did his best English accent.

Riley laughed out loud at him. "Ohmygod … you're such a dork!" she pushed him.

While the teens played around, Derek tried to hide a look of relief on his face. It wasn't often either John Connor he knew smiled, so to see him doing it now brought a small comfort to the man's hardened heart.

Just then another knock came from the door. John and Derek both exchanged weird looks and turned to the entrance.

"Are you expecting anyone else?" the older man asked. John shook his head and walked to the entrance way and peeked through a closed curtain.

"What the hell?" he turned and opened the front door. "Morris?"

At the front door a smaller Hispanic teenage boy stood with an oversized box of chocolates and a dozen roses. The boy had his usually messy hair combed to the side and he wore a tux that seemed to be a little too big for him.

"Seven right?" Morris asked nervously from the look of his best friend who didn't seem to be expecting him.

"What do you mean?" John asked with confusion. Morris looked around in the same confusion.

"What do you mean what do you mean?" he asked.

"What do **you **mean what do you mean?" John shot back.

"Cameron didn't tell you?" the teen shifted in his spot.

"Tell me what?" the taller kid asked.

"Dude … I'm taking her to the dance." Morris answered, letting himself in while John's frown turned into a glare.

"You are, are you?" He said, biting his lip out of spite.

"Yeah man, she said she felt bad about bailing on our prom date, so she asked if I could take her to the homecoming or fall formal … whatever they're calling it." Morris said, looking around the Connor's home with an impressed "huh" and a nod of greeting to Riley.

From the couch Derek shook his head and slumped back, muttering something along the line of when did the home of the mighty John Connor turn into a basic breeding ground for plots of a CW show.

John pressed his lips, as he had once again been one upped by the cyborg.

Riley watched John with a dark anger at the very jealous look on the young man's face. She felt disheartened at the thought of everyone ignoring her. She felt as if everyone cared for her here just as much as everyone had in the future, which was not at all.

"Wow …" Morris's sounded like he had just found the Ark of the Covenant.

John turned to his friend, whose eyes were locked to the staircase. Without skipping a beat, he looked to the stairs and at that moment John lost his ability to be anything but an awe struck statue.

Cameron came down the stairs in a silky, purple dress that played off her smooth sun kissed skin. Her curtain of glimmering brunette hair was curled, and caped her bare shoulders. Her makeup paled her face, yet complemented her lipstick which was a deep red. It seemed as if all the oxygen was sucked out of the room as the beautiful girl reached the foot of the stairs and smiled brilliantly at Morris, all but ignoring John, who felt a flicker of hurt in his heart at her dismissive action.

John's eyes seemed to be glued to Cameron as she thanked Morris, smelled the flowers and took the chocolates from him. John felt as if he were going to faint when she decided to snap the stem of a rose, and tuck it into her hair, making her appearance almost too gorgeous to look at.

Before he knew it, John was left standing alone at the doorway with everyone gone. He blinked and looked to his uncle, who was following the cyborg down the driveway with confused eyes. Both looked at each other again.

Derek shrugged to his nephew and went back to the television. The hand of an angry blond snapped John by the wrist and dragged him out the door.

* * *

"_**This is an unwise move." **_

Ryan smiled at the computer's blunt comment as he set the nicked and scraped pump tactical shotgun onto the table. A small hole had been carved into the wooden stock, into which the officer was stringing fishing rope through. He tied a knot into a loop that would fit tightly around his wrist.

"Oh yeah … how's that" He tugged on the limp rope with his wrist harshly.

"_**You have had two prior engagements with the target, neither of which have you found a weakness with firearms. Furthermore, in your last encounter at Maria Shipkov's ballet studio, you were almost apprehended by the authorities." **_

The man smirked as he racked the shotgun and pulled the trigger, which gave a healthy click, before setting it on a cluttered desk in front of the billboard.

"Yeah, that was touch and go for a second … but this will be different." He announced, his leather utility belt clinking as he pulled it around his waist and buckled the scarred silver buckle.

"_**Yes, there will be a host of adolescents in the crossfire." **_

"It's L.A. I'm sure these kids know when to duck and run." He shot back, drawing his father's weapon quickly, checking access, before spinning the weapon like a gunslinger and holstering it.

"_**Calhoun High School is located in a fairly crime free district of the city. In fact many of the families are of upper-middle class origins."**_

Ryan just sighed as he loaded a duffle with equipment, and glared at a T-888 chip plugged into an interface. "You know, for a killing machine, you sure like to pitch more problems than ideas." He grumbled.

"_**I'm merely pointing out your oversights as my mission parameter requires."**_

"Your mission requirements state that you're supposed to watch my back …" Ryan corrected, as he grabbed a black overcoat with a patch of the silver 132nd eagle wing sewn on the sleeve.

"_**Yet I'm uncorporalized?" **_

"No offense, but I'm not too keen on having some English rose following me around all day nagging." He pulled on the coat, and popped up the back of the collar.

"_**None has been taken, sir." **_

Ryan loaded the shotgun in silence and racked it. "Okay …" he sighed as he emptied a box of twelve gauge shells into the inner pocket of his coat. "You know the drill, if there are any reports of gun fire in my location, reroute the police someplace else." He commanded as he secured the last of the equipment and hitched the bag over his shoulder.

"_**And if you're injured?"**_

"Then, put the fake ID in the hospital system, come on now this stuff's important!" the soldier answered in irritation at the run around they went through every time he went somewhere. When he walked up to his motorcycle, the man holstered the shotgun in a hidden compartment on the side of the bike.

"_**Very well" **_

"Oracle, activate Security protocol Alpha until further notice …" he called pushing a tool cart out of the way before mounting the bike as the elevator platform began to rise.

"_**Good luck, sir." **_

Ryan gave a two finger salute to the chip interface after sliding on his tinted visor helmet.

* * *

There wasn't much different about John's old high school since the day he, Cameron, and Sarah attended an ill-fated counseling session in which John and Cameron's councilor tried to persuade Sarah to keep them in school. Suffice it to say, when John hauled Sarah off after she had broken the bureaucratic woman's nose when the pride scorned administrator claimed that there was possible sexual abuse in the home between John and Sarah, the staff wasn't too sad to see the strange Baum family leave.

The gymnasium was filled with dressed-up students, who were texting and talking to each other. All wore expensive dresses and other formal wear. The gym was decorated in true high school dance committee over-the-topness. Pink streamers traced the gym walls, at the double door entrances banners welcomed students and a disco ball lit up below the score board. Tables surrounded mid-court where a dance floor accommodated the vulgar grinding and other hormone driven provocative dancing favored by the sex crazed teens of the generation.

There was a part of John that didn't want to be back in this environment. The gossiping and the "OMG what a SKANK!" and other such trivial teen dramas had made being the loner the cause of outlandish rumors to try to explain the kid who never seemed to be interested in what was popular.

With a look of disinterest, John rocked back and forth on the back legs of his seat. He had told his friends, including a surprise show Cheri Weston, that he didn't much care for the music. It seemed that was why he was in a dark mood; that made some of the guys at the dance wary, while those of the cheerleading squad hot for the young man.

"_Every girl wants to fix a bad boy."_

John wasn't sure he would call himself a bad boy, but then he had to admit, his felony record spoke volumes to the query- blowing up Cyberdyne, stealing Coltan shipments, and, most of all, killing a man.

But the real reason John was angry was something that he couldn't really share with anyone. It was something of a fantasy of his to take Cameron to one of these dances. Back when Morris had asked Cameron to the Prom, he wasn't thinking. His mom had called saying it was urgent, so he had just told Cameron to say something for the time being. Now as he watched her, with the flower in her hair and that smile for someone else, there was a frustration and disappointment at the whole situation. He let out a sigh when he looked around the gym.

Meanwhile, Riley sat on the other side of the table looking out at the dance floor longingly, her cheek pressed into a knuckle. "Hey John boy … how bout we dance off that frown!" She eventually called over the migraine inducing dance music that blared through the court.

"I'm good!" John responded folding his arms with irritation.

His date laughed off his answer and walked in front of him trying to pull him off his seat. He didn't budge as she tugged on his arms.

"Why not?" Riley whined playfully, continuing to pull his arms with amusement at the limpness in them.

"Tried it once … didn't like it." John was short, and sounded slightly bitter.

The girl frowned irritated at the youth, but she shrugged it off and started to dance in front of him, backing into the crowd on the hormone thick dance floor. As she reached the mass of bodies she motioned the young man to follow her with seductive coursing of her index fingers. John shook his head silently with a lack of amusement. Riley sighed, and waved him off as she decided that she would give him some time before he came back to her.

Cameron wasn't the only thing downing John's mood. It was something more deep and existential. As he looked at his peers dancing and talking about new reality star's clothing lines and school gossip, he couldn't help but find that he didn't care for any of it. He had lived with the thought of Judgment Day looming over him since he was nine, so what was important to the people in the gym was disregarded as useless to him. He had more pressing matters to deal with and thus he was inherently a loner from his disconnect to society.

He sighed sadly, got up and exited the gym

* * *

On an unguarded ladder, Cameron ignored a warning for all students to stay away from the hatch. But, since she wasn't a student, she felt her disregard for the warning was justified. With careful balance, as not to slip on the high heels she had borrowed from Sarah's closet, Cameron climbed the ladder until she reached the hatch and found that it wasn't only unlocked, but popped slightly. She pushed it open and climbed to the top to reveal the school's roof. She closed the hatch, and strode toward the edge, and was immediately fascinated by the Los Angeles skyline that was clear and visible from the spot.

The city lights at night took on the appearance of little crystal being exposed to light. Cameron still hadn't gotten used to the sparkling Metropolis's appearance without the rubble and desolation, though the fleet of helicopters that flew about it did make her think of Skynet's HK patrols. From below the sound of a harmonica sounded over the seemingly quiet night. The tune was slow and slightly familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

"_Maybe John played it for me in the future?" _

She looked below to find a tall male shadow in an overcoat leaning against the wall of the nearby school auditorium. Cameron was compelled to scan him as a threat, but desisted as she concluded that he was ignorant of her presence.

"He's pretty good, huh?"

Cameron turned to the sound of John's voice to find him sitting on one of the upper most floors of the roof looking down on her.

"You snuck away again." She said with a hint of irritation. The teen shrugged at her statement. There was a pause between the two as they listened to the song carry on the wind, while looking at each other, as if it were setting a mood.

"What are you doing out here?" Cameron called again.

The teen grinned and turned away from her, back to the city. "Listening …" he commented. Cameron tilted her head to listen again.

John silently observed the girl with an affectionate smile. "Come on … come and take a seat." John patted the spot next to him.

Without hesitation, the cyborg climbed the steps and settled next to John on the edge of the higher plateau. After making herself comfortable, the two locked onto one another's eyes for a moment. Eventually John let out a nervous chuckle, and looked down into his lap with a scratch to his neck, while the girl next to him gave a ghost of a smile and turned away.

"Why are you up here?" he asked after a moment.

"I tracked your foot prints here when they began to count votes for homecoming court." She answered with a docile softness. John snorted at her comment.

"How very Davy Crockett of you." He sighed. Cameron twitched an eyebrow at the reference, and opened her mouth to speak but John lifted a hand. "Let's leave it at that." He interrupted her.

The elegant young woman nodded and the two listened to the song again. There was a comfortable silence as the man seemed to be letting it all out.

"You know Morris is going to be looking for you." John said, not looking at Cameron as he made his comment.

The girl looked blankly at the young man with coldness to the stare. "Riley is going to be looking for you, also." She shot back, not flinching away from John's silent criticism. There was sudden tension between the two as John glared at her comment.

"Yeah, I guess she would be." He sighed, not flinching either from her heart clenching look of rejection.

There was quiet between the two again as both paused to acknowledge that they had not only hurt one another over the past three weeks, but since that morning in the church.

"Why Riley?" Cameron asked after a moment in a delicate innocence that would have brought John to his knees if he wasn't already sitting.

John sputtered his breath at the deep question and shook his head with a clearing of his throat. He tried to speak, but he came out empty as Cameron's doe golden eyes seemed to portray a fragility that John couldn't quite believe he was seeing.

"I guess it was a lot easier to distract myself with someone else, than to sit and chew on what's going on in here." He thumped the right side of his chest with a sigh, it seemed such a Reese expression and answer. With that said, he looked up at the moon above them. Cameron watched the motion and did the same, watching the round orb in the sky as well, being cast into thought.

There were many things going through the cyborg's mind. She knew what he meant, but how was she supposed to go about their relationship? The plan all along was to separate herself emotionally from John. Yet why was she so attached to him, despite changed mission objectives, and why do these uncontrollable ticks and urges override her mission software that should be keeping her on task?

"_Well it a marvelous night for a Moondance_

_With the stars up above in your eyes"_

Cameron turned from her observation of the moon, to John who seemed to be transfixed on her as he sung, as if he was cast under a spell that he couldn't fight anymore. His voice was in tune with the song as if he had some sort of subconscious connection to the harmonica player.

"_A fantabulous night to make romance_

'_Neath the cover of October skies"_

He concluded the singing abruptly and seemed to be captured by Cameron's very human look of enchantment at the young man's almost natural talent of singing, something that John in the future had never shared with her.

"When my mom and dad where together in this dingy motel, Mom turned on the radio and this song he's playing came on. The both listened to it, staring at each other, and from that moment they made a connection that Mom still has to him." John explained as if he were seeing it so clearly, as he drank in Cameron's sheer beauty being radiated in the moonlight. With the song playing in the background, it was almost as if history was repeating itself.

"You kissed me" Cameron stated, as if responding to his story. John looked almost shocked at the statement. "At the Halloween party … you kissed me and I kissed you, but then you said the next day that you didn't mean it." She started.

"What I said was right … I was drunk and what I did didn't count for anything." John said sternly.

Cameron blinked at the sudden emotion she couldn't quiet comprehend, but the closest she could label it was the feeling of what human's would call hurt.

She turned her head toward the skyline again. Then a hand took her cheek and turned her head so that she could look into green eyes. John brushed some of her curls behind her ear and stroked her cheek.

"But I'm not drunk now …" He pushed his lips against her warm wet ones, sealing a passionate kiss that consumed both of the two's beings. Cameron leaned her head into John shoulder, while John wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her close into an embrace.

As the couple kissed the sound of the harmonica continued amongst the distant echoes of cars and cicadas.

* * *

Riley sat next to Morris as the two teens waited on their dates to appear. The blond felt incredibly stupid for not sticking with John. Usually she could get him to do what she wanted, but tonight he seemed different. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she had noticed that he was beginning to take a less of an interest in her and the two were starting to drift.

A part of her didn't know how she felt about that. She didn't want to let Jesse down, but if John didn't like her *like her*, then she could live with that, she and Jesse would be free to live their own lives and maybe even live them together. Plus John would always be her friend which is more than she had ever had before in the tunnels. So she didn't see a no-win in her situation.

With a glance around, she noticed John and Cameron re-entering the dance, their hands clasped together. John had a grin, and Cameron an almost glowing smile on her face. Riley glared at the cyborg. She had overlooked the one _thing _that could ruin her no-lose situation. The machine could easily kill her, or even worst take John away from her; which in turn would make Jesse angry, and then she would leave. Riley felt that was something she couldn't handle.

Noticing the blonde's hateful stare, Cameron whispered something in John's ear, to which he begrudgingly released the girl's hand. But the two still kept a close proximity as they walked back to the table, to their dates.

"Where did you guys go?" Morris asked as he stood up in Cameron's presence.

"We were just making conversation." Cameron shared a private smile with John behind her. Riley glared at the sight of the girl almost leaning back into John's chest.

"That's a bit weird …" she sighed ,giving the two a small, freaked out look at the implication that only she caught on.

John panicked slightly at the thought of someone thinking he had been making out with his twin sister. Cameron's eye twitched in irritation when John stepped away from her. Both girls shared a tense moment before Morris escorted Cameron to her seat.

Just then the lights went black, and the music cut off momentarily. Everyone stopped and looked around in confusion and panic, the sound of grinder organ music began to play over the speakers. The song was disjointed and chaotic, with a slight hint of insanity.

The light to mid court turned on, and a larger obese clown appeared. His disgustingly burnt face only veiled by smeared on clown's make up, brought a small groan and gasp as the man began to laugh with a maniacal, childlike amusement and started to juggle colored balls. The students seemed to be confused, but figured that had to be a prank engineered by a fellow student, so they laughed at the clumsy skits that followed his juggling act.

John didn't like it at all; in fact there was something about the clown that was downright creepy. Without thinking, he protectively placed an arm around Cameron's waist, only to see that she had a face akin to a thoroughly amused little girl as she laughed at the tricks. It didn't escape John's notice that the clown seemed to getting closer and closer to them, and he didn't like the way he was looking at Cameron, who didn't seemed to be acting like herself.

Just as the clown got close and was groping at Cameron, the sounds from behind John turned his head. A figure in black stitched coat with the back of the collar popped up, appeared several paces away from them, pushing kids out of the way. Then as if in slow motion, the shadow pulled a familiar tactical shotgun from underneath his coat and aimed it at the clown. Instincts took over John, and without thinking, he tackled Cameron to the floor amongst screams.

BOOM!

SHEEK, SHEEK

BOOM!

Looking up from the ground, he saw the clown was sent back by the force of the shotgun blasts, but a red force-field bubble appeared in front of the clown on the ground. With a twitch, the obese clown sat up with a painful looking smile on his face that oozed puss from opened burn blisters. Seeing the ineffective use of his weapon, the shadowed man took off for cover, as the clown pulled an Uzi from inside his tails pocket, and unleashed a spray of bullets as the shadow slid across a far table and turned it over.

John lay on top of Cameron for her protection as he watched the gun fight. The shadow appeared briefly from cover to fire off a shot, before he ducked behind the overturned round table, as the clown unleashed another burst.

All around John, students were screaming and stampeding for the exits. With a jump to his feet he pulled Cameron up. She seemed to have a blank, almost dead, look in her eyes as the maniacal music continued to loop over the speakers.

With hyena belly laughs, the clown turned the sitting area into swiss cheese as the shadowed figure rolled the metallic table on its side as he crouched behind, using it as moving cover. The clown backed up, until he reached the double doors that led into the school. He gave John and Cameron a chuckle and a snap of his teeth, and with a tip of his top hat he disappeared through the doors.

"Come on we've got to go!" John took Cameron's hand, and was in the process of pulling her when a group of lacrosse players trampled John on their way to the exit. With angry frustration, John struggled to get back to his feet. Feeling a feminine hand snatch him by the arm and haul him up, John felt relief looking up.

"Cameron …" John stopped when he saw a traumatized Riley. She looked like John had betrayed her in the worst way. "You alright?" he asked distantly, feeling a fear that came from losing track of Cameron.

"I'm …" the blond started emotionally. John's panic-struck look paused the girl, as he searched frantically around the gymnasium.

"Where's Cameron?"

* * *

Down the white and powder-blue darkened hallways, a teenage girl in a silk purple evening gown followed the sound of carousel music that was echoing through the wide corridor. Once again a look of childlike wonder played across her face as she followed the sound. A bright smile was plastered across her ruby lips as she started to skip to the music like a little girl would.

She stopped when a chuckle echoed through the silent hall and the sinister shadow of a large individual in a top hat motioned her to follow with a wiggling finger. The girl squealed with laughter and complied. Climbing stairs to the second floor, and passing through dark hallways and around corners, she was slowly being drawn farther and farther into the school.

As Cameron skipped by the metal shop classroom, a pair of gloved hands snatched up the girl making her yelp as she was pulled inside the room. Suddenly, the look of wonder melted when she was slammed back first into the now closed door to the room, her face turning to an emotionless mask. The clown grinned villainously and led the blank canvas of a cyborg to a cleared table.

He stroked his chin like an artist in contemplation, and pressed the girl down on top of the table into a lying position. With a chuckle, he hopped to where her curls were splayed out on the thick workbench, and with a clap of his torn gloved hands he extracted a knife from his sleeve. Whistling, the obese man began to cut into the girl's scalp, carving a semi-circle. He began with obnoxious humming; pulling the flap of skin up, to look upon a blood smeared metal skull. Then with a victorious chuckle, he removed a restrainer bolt from his pocket, and placed it over her chip hatch. The device glowed a faint black when he activated it by remote control.

Satisfied, the smeared make-upped killer hopped back, and with a click turned off the recorder. With a growling, sadistic giggle the clown waited for several minutes until a mechanical buzz signaled his victim's return to consciousness. The girl turned her head, but did not move.

"Hello …" she said flicking her eyes from side to side at her surroundings. The clown whistled and waved in greeting. Cameron turned her head to the ceiling, flexing her fingers and moved her legs, but that was all.

"You have disabled my HUD and several of my motor functions." She said with a dangerously cold voice.

"Um hmm …" the clown nodded with a playful smile. Then while whistling, the man strolled up and looked Cameron over like a piece of meat.

"Whatever you think to gain by torture is illogical, I'm a machine and do not feel pain." She commented emotionlessly, looking at the clown's crazed red eyes.

He merely shushed her, placing a finger on her lip. Taking his knife, the man began to trail the flat end of the blade down her nose, then slipped it between her lips, bobbing it up and down obnoxiously in a sadistic sensual action, before extracting the now saliva coded knife and began trailing it down her neck and in between her cleavage and down the dip to her stomach before he stopped at her lower belly, her saliva gleaning the trail her made over her body.

Then with a sudden grunt, the clown dug the knife through the silk and skin making a large incision. Cameron said nothing only blinked at the action. Beginning to hum again, the fat man cracked his knuckles and with a hard stare into Cameron's eyes he began to push his entire fist into the large cut. Cameron let out a human-like shallow breath and twitched a little as the clown began digging inside her pushing his hand deeper into her.

"Whatever … it is you're looking for … it's not there" Cameron tried to keep a calm attitude despite her jerking upper body and broken voice, her sensors feeling his hand digging through her insides and brushing her lower endoskeleton

. After several more moments it became apparent to her what he was searching for. "Your attempts to find Allison Young's egg are unwarranted as my model is …" she stopped when the clown chuckled victoriously. A very human fear that she couldn't understand ran through Cameron as she felt a finger tickle something inside her.

CRASH!

A muddy brown motorcycle boot kicked the door open, and a figure in a black coat and navy t-shirt stood in the doorway. The clown quickly removed his hand from inside Cameron. The soldier fired a slug from his shotgun. The clown was forced back as the shield stopped the spray of pellets. The man again racked and fired, this time sending the clown through the window, where the overweight killer caught on to the ledge. With another pump the man pulled the trigger.

CLICK.

"Damn it …" Ryan cussed seeing that he ran out of shells.

Taking a moment to watch the clown was swinging to pull himself up, and judging that he didn't have enough time to reload, the soldier rushed up to the helpless cyborg who was watching the fight intently,.

"Captain Phillips, 132nd SOC." Ryan introduced himself to the suspicious killing machine first. "Can you walk?" he asked as he pulled Cameron into a sitting position.

"Barely, he shut down most of my systems." She answered honestly. Ryan nodded, and shot a quick look to the clown who was struggling to get back into the room. The officer tossed the beauty's arm over his shoulder and helped her to her feet. Using the future soldier for support, the two exited the room quickly.

Ryan dragged Cameron with an arm around her waist as fast as possible while they raced through the darkened corridors. Behind them the shadow of an obese clown followed cheerily, skipping and whistling. Feeling the clown getting close, Ryan stopped and gently moved his mother and himself behind a corner for cover. Digging in a duffle bag he'd unhitched off his other shoulder, the soldier pulled out a pipe bomb. Cameron lifted an eyebrow at the homemade explosive as he lit the fuse and let it burn for a moment before he broke cover smoothly, tossing it down the hallway near the amused fat man. Turning back for cover, Ryan instinctively pulled Cameron into a protective embrace, tucking her into him. There was a loud explosion that followed, shaking the corridor.

"Will that work?" Cameron looked up into matching mocha eyes.

"No, but it will make him stop and reconsider his life choices for a moment." Ryan assured her with a pant.

The corridor began to fill with smoke. Not waiting to confirm anything, Ryan pulled up the rope looped to his wrist up to his shoulder letting the shotgun hang. Then with a grunt he swept Cameron off her feet and into his arms, carrying her down the hallway quickly.

* * *

"John we should go …"

Riley whispered, following the determined young man into the dark school.

"No … not without Cameron." He gritted.

To say that John was pissed was sorely understating the obvious. He was already going against everything his mom had ever taught him about these situations, but he couldn't, or more to the point wouldn't, leave Cameron. But what was making him tense was the fact that he had a blonde girl with him that he had told to get lost, but for some reason she wouldn't. He would probably kick himself later for not getting her to leave, but he couldn't waste time trying to explain the reality of the situation to Riley.

"_I can't let anything happen to Cameron." _

The two teens crept through the shadows, sidling doors so they would not to be caught in the open like John had cautioned. Every so often John would call Cameron's name in a harsh whisper. But he got no response, which in turn would take them deeper into the school.

They had reached the stairs when the sound of shotgun blasts echoed from the hall, shortly followed by a deep boom of an explosion that rattled the ceiling.

"Cameron!" John ran to the staircase when he saw a shadow appear moving fast with a familiar silhouette in its arms. The two met at the foot of steps and locked eyes.

John was shocked to find the man to be the same guy from the diner three weeks back. He had the same designer scruff and grown out black hair and if that wasn't distinguishing enough; he had a recognizable facial scar across his eye. The two shared a silent moment; before a belly laugh echoed down the stair well, and the beginnings of a shadow of a top hatted figure began to form on the wall.

"Follow me." Ryan said with a pant at his future mother's weight.

Leading the way down the hall; the soldier stopped at another cover corner, and set Cameron down. John didn't hesitate to collect her in his arms. However, in taking her he felt a gooey wet substance on his fingers and he smelled blood.

"You're hurt …" John said with a deep concern for her. Riley looked to the dark blotch on the shiny fabric of Cameron's dress.

"I'm fine John …" She looked at him intimately.

"Hey, focus!" Ryan snapped at his parents. "The Bastard's got a restrainer bolt on her so she can't move her arms and she won't be running out of here." he sighed tensely as he reloaded the shotgun, with one of the shells between his teeth.

"And who are you …?" John growled at the man's tone.

Ryan shot the teen a reproachable look. "The man who just saved your girlfriend" He shot back, removing the spare shell from his teeth and loaded it into the tactical weapon. Riley seemed to flash with anger at the comment.

"He's an officer … Tech-Com." Cameron gave John a poignant look, to which Riley twitched nervously.

"Then it's one of 'Them'?" John asked. Ryan racked the gun before he answered.

"No, it's a test tube clone … with a personal energy force field." He shook his head, being cast into thought for a moment, he looked at John in a way that no one had in his entire life. It was a look of pure trust and confidence. "This guy's got too much downloaded in his head. Because of it, his mental psychosis is starting to revert. He's one of the most dangerous killers in the world, with a grade school mind set." He addressed the teen as if he was giving a superior officer a field report from the front or a longtime partner the quick rundown. "He's absolutely insane and unpredictable." He warned.

"And he's after me …" John felt guilty as he thought of the possibility of the loss of life that another one of Skynet's killers had racked up while looking for him.

"No … he's after her." Ryan motioned to a limp Cameron in John's arms. Both exchanged looks before going back to the soldier.

"Why's he after me?" Cameron asked with a frown.

"Long story …" The man cleared his throat to change the subject.

Suddenly Riley spoke out loud in thought. "So, like, if you said that he's got a force field … then how are we supposed to stop him." She turned to Ryan then John and Cameron.

"_We're_ not going to." The raven haired man responded, untangling the shotgun and tossing it to John. "_I_ am. And I'm going to do it the old fashion way." Ryan finished unhitching the bag.

"Wait! What?" John protested catching the gun.

"Look … I'll fight him off and you get her out of here." Ryan ordered, pulling out a long, short-sword like combat knife. While John looked at the weapon; Cameron appeared troubled at the prospect of being protected by John; it should be her protecting John, instead of the other way around.

Ryan looked at the two and scoffed. "And here I thought a role reversal was healthy for a relationship." He joked to the two teens, before tossing his duffle to Riley. With one last good look at his parents, with a feeling of completeness to see them alive again and together, Ryan saluted with the knife and disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

For some reason John couldn't help but feel absolutely horrible for letting the soldier go out there by himself, with a turn of his head he saw that it wasn't sitting right with Cameron either.

The three teen's trip to the car seemed fast while John prepared for the inevitable arrival of the police. But when they reached the parking lot there was no one there but some sobbing students.

A deep almost primal need to go back into the school and help out the solider who had rushed to face Skynet's jolly little short bus rider, was pushing John. However, his main concern was getting Cameron to safety from the man who was after her.

This was a landmark for the young man. He had never been put into the driver's seat of these kinds of situations, where he was in charge of keeping two people alive, while figuring a way on how to stop an enemy that couldn't be killed with conventional weapons. He quickly reminded himself to kiss Sarah when he got home, finally stepping into his mom's everyday shoes.

"_I guess the future came early." _

With silent pants he helped the heavy ballerina to the Dodge Ram that the four teenagers had taken to the dance. Riley and John helped a limp Cameron into the passenger's side. John sighed as he lingered on the mostly paralyzed cyborg that turned to gaze back at him.

"No, John …" Cameron protest when she caught a spark in his eye. Her comment only hardened his eyes.

"He's one of my men … I can't leave him in there alone." He explained to Cameron, who was shaking her head at his response.

"No … John, you can't go in there … you can't, John , you can't." she kept repeating herself getting more and more visibly upset as her pleas fell on deaf ears. "Please, John listen to me … you can't go, I don't want to you to go." Tears in her eyes softened green orbs, but not his resolve.

"Why not? People say that they die for me … why can't I do the same for them?" He replied in frustration and gritted teeth. John was expecting for Cameron to launch into a Sarah Connor-esque rant about being the future leader and _"If you die Skynet wins"_ garbage, but instead he got something he didn't expect.

"If you die … I'll have no purpose in life." She said in an emotional admission that John had seen before while Cameron was trapped between two trucks. "John …" she paused a second, pools of chocolate bathed in fear and slight panic. "I can't live without you."

There was a stifled gasp from the young man as he watched tears leak from the mascara thick eyelashes. Cameron's confession was as good as a plea of everlasting love for him. Once again he stood thinking about what his best friend was begging him not to do. And like before, he went with the hard decision.

John turned to Riley, who was confused and had a pained look to her. John grasped her shoulders and shook her to get her focus.

"Riley, listen to me I want you to take Cameron to my house." John said handing her the keys.

"No … John!" Cameron cried out in protest. Riley looked visibly disturbed by the emotions being shown by the cyborg.

"Riley!" John shook her back to him. "Can you do that …?" he asked. The blond took the keys numbly.

"But what about you?" she said in a daze. John just glared.

"Can. You. Do it?" He growled, ignoring the blonde's question. The girl nodded her head silently. "Then go …" John gave her a push to get her started. There was a strange look of rejection on Riley's face as she disappeared around the other side of the truck.

"John" Tears where now flowing freely from Cameron as she was powerless to stop the Hero from entering the fray inside the abandoned school.

With one last look to the teary eyed cyborg, the determined hero touched her cheek, with no words needed to be spoken, to ensure his feelings before he closed the car door.

* * *

There was an eerie silence that roared through the halls of the high school, making the silent hunting of man vs. monster a chess game in the dark, each sly movement, every shallow breath became an advantage to the opponent in the dark close, quarters. It would only take one misstep to end the life of one of the players of this perverse version of hide and seek.

Ryan's steps where slow and precise as he slowly stalked the clown, his knife in an upside down fighting position. It was common knowledge to anyone from the future that when faced with the prospect of hiding; the knee-jerk reaction was to go underground, so that was why Ryan advanced on Mr. Florin's auto shop classroom.

The flicker of a light inside the room showed the outline of an older man in a grey jumpsuit lying face down on the floor under a single light on in the middle of the room. Seeing the man, the soldier rushed through the door and knelt next to the body. He was in his late fifties and had silver hair with a shiny bald spot. Ryan turned the man over to see his hazel eyes where frozen in shock, and his mouth had semi-dried green crust at the edge of his wrinkled lower lips.

"_Poisoned" _

Ryan saw a puncture mark in his right palm that had a faint green hue on the entry point.

While checking the old man, the officer seemed to miss the silhouette of a large, formally dressed clown looming behind him. Sensing the presence; Ryan threw a stab at the clown's chest, but the scarred killer caught the arm and with a vicious tug twisted the weapon from Ryan. The sound of the knife landing on the concrete floor was followed by the sound of a body crashing into a shelf of supplies where the clown tossed the Captain.

Taking a breath to recover, the future soldier got to his feet and looked to the clown who picked up his knife and twirled it while whistling, as if he challenging the young man to come and take it back.

"That was a nice touch with the old 'dead man' trap" …" Ryan complimented his adversary. The obese funny man chuckled and bowed, as if being applauded and showered with roses.

Seeing an opportunity to strike, Ryan charged the clown full speed. Seeing the oncoming resistance fighter closing the distance between them, the clown flipped the knife in a ready position. However, several feet from the killer, the officer twisted and jumped, doing a handstand, and propelling his motorcycle boots into the unexpected clown's face, sending him backwards. Landing on his feet, Ryan continued forward, pressing his advantage by jumping and taking hold of a hanging ramp chain. Swinging himself forward, he kicked his boot into the clown's chest, knocking him to the ground.

But, as he let go of the chain, sailing over his opponent's head and landing with an acrobatic flip, he failed to notice that the clown had, like in their previous encounters, utilized his rounded figure. Like a ball he bounced, doing a backwards summersault to his feet right after impact. Ryan had little time to recover from his acrobatics before the clown bore down on him.

At the last second, Ryan caught the clown's knife hand as the killer pressed with all his might to drive the sharp object into his chest. A little vein in the soldier's forehead popped out of his head as he strained to hold off his own combat knife. Looking to break the officer's concentration, the clown let out two swift punches to the soldier's right ribs. The two shots brought the captain to his knees. Seeing red from the nerve shots to his ribs, Ryan head butted the killer in the face, and in a smooth motion, Ryan dropped back-first to the ground, and pulled the clown down. While using his feet, the last of the future Connor family propelled the fat man overhead. Like a golf birdie, the clown fell into a large hole in the ground where the students lowered cars for safe keeping.

Not wanting to let the psychopath have any time to recover from the fall, Ryan jumped on a hanging chain leading into the basement floor of the garage. He slid down the linked line, landing with a loud clap on the ground in a squat position, balancing his hand on the smooth concrete.

Ryan stood up and looked at the almost total darkness of the room around him. Not only was the maniacal serial killer nowhere to be found, the empty lower storage room was covered with hanging green tarps that were used to cover the cars.

The hero flicked hardened mocha eyes around alertly in the small room as the sound of childlike laughter echoed hollowly. Then a flash of sudden stinging pain ran through his back. He swung behind him, where the clown had slashed him in the back. He gritted his teeth and searched the tarps for any evidence of the robust maniac.

"UGH!"

This time he felt the blade gash his upper back. With a quick snap of his head, he caught an oncoming fist spiked with brass knuckles graze the side of his face, leaving three nasty razor cuts above his left eye brow. Then with the blade in hand, the clown slashed him across the bridge of the nose. With a sadistic laugh, the fat man choke slammed the captain to the ground with a sickening thud; Ryan felt something flat and metal under his back.

The clown, with crazed murderous eyes, began to punch the hero across the face. Reaching under him between strikes the soldier grabbed a tossed aside crowbar. Then with a knee to the solar plexus, the youngest Connor slammed the metal tool into the clown's face. The obese man fell back on his rear, spitting teeth out. Ryan got to his knees, following through with his second swing like a homerun hitter, knocking more yellowed and red stained teeth out, and sending the killer flat on his back.

With a vengeance the soldier lifted the sharp point of the bar to impale the sadistic murderer when the clown began to laugh nonstop.

"What's so damn …" Ryan gritted out before he began to feel his strength drain. "Funny." He gasped when he caught a gaze at his knife jammed into his diaphragm.

Dropping the crowbar the soldier collapsed backwards to the sound of insane, childlike laughter.

* * *

The kitchen of the Connor home was quiet, with the exception of cicadas chirping near the back door. Sarah leaned forward on the island, pencil in hand while gazing upon a pattern of three dots that she scribbled on a yellow note pad. With her bandaged hand, she pushed away her now shoulder length hair behind her ear. The strange and somewhat disturbing dreams she had been having of late had inspired her to put some pants on and her cut out neckline sweatshirt. Despite it now being the late 2000's Sarah still couldn't imagine her wardrobe without at least one of the fashion statements of her teenage days.

While the dreams seemed to take their toll on her, she was also feeling a strange, almost domestic, sense of normalcy. It came not only from John and Cameron's bitter prank war that had the house in an uproar, ending with them attending some homecoming dance, but also from the sight of Derek asleep in a recliner with the television on. Sarah contemplated how easy it could be to forget about their mission, even in light of the last activity on the Skynet front coming from Cameron's scuffle with a terminatrix at Sherman's office. She sighed and placed the pencil down next to the pad and looked at the pattern.

"_What is this …?" _

Just then the sound of feet shuffled into the kitchen. Sarah followed Derek as he recycled the bottle of beer, and placed his crumb filled plate in the sink. With a sigh he walked up to her, opposite the island.

"Hey …" he addressed her with piercing hazel eyes that made her melt slightly. She nodded at him, and went back to looking at the pattern on the paper. "You feeling okay?" he asked, cautiously trying to walk on egg shells since there last full encounter, which resulted with a passionate kiss.

"Fine …" she didn't look up for fear of starting up another link of events that would end up with her in his arms. He nodded again and looked to the top of the island trying to find a way to have at least a semi-normal conversation with the woman in front of him.

Sarah chanced a look at him and then bit her lip.

"Have … have you seen this pattern before?" Sarah motioned to the legal pad glancing down again before he caught her eye. Derek craned his neck at it, before walking over behind her, and looking over her shoulder at the three dots.

"No … I don't think so." He said with over concentration at the paper, trying not to notice his close proximity to the woman only inches in front of him. Sarah let out several shallow breathes and momentarily turned her head catching his gaze with the corner of her eye. Both of their breathing stopped as they inevitably locked eyes.

Just like with the mission, Sarah thought how easy it would be to be let herself slip backwards into Derek's arms and let him hold her, how simple she could lock lips with him and let her worries be put at ease in that moment of connection. But she knew it wasn't that easy. He was Kyle's brother, not Kyle. Would it be fair for him, or even her to jump into whatever it was she was feeling for the man, when she wasn't sure? But most importantly, she couldn't allow herself those kind of attachments, not when everything could be collapsing around her. She had to be free for John; she couldn't tie herself down to anything or anyone. Nothing matters except her baby and the mission.

"Derek …" Sarah wasn't sure why she was whispering as their lip came closer. "We can't." she shook her head at him. "I … I can't." she turned her head down again feeling his breath in her hair.

"I know." He grunted bracing himself on the counter, his arms on either side of the woman. Both stood in silence trying to fight the strange feelings pulling out their insides. Suddenly the front door opened with a loud bang and there was strained panting.

"Sarah! Derek!"

Both adults traded looks, this being the first time they had ever heard Cameron call out in distress. On instinct, Sarah drew a pistol from the island drawer and exited the kitchen, while Derek unconsciously placing his palms on her back as they entered the living room together. They found Riley and Cameron collapsed on the sofa. The cyborg was bleeding from her lower stomach and her cheeks seemed to be tear-stained.

"John's in trouble."

* * *

With gasped grunts, the future soldier staggered through the blurring hallway of powder blues and darkening whites. A trail of blood dripped from Ryan's face and diaphragm as he used the walls to support his weight.

It was only by divine intervention of wisdom that the hero had donned body armor that had mostly absorbed the blow of the knife. But it still penetrated the protective vest drawing a steady stream of blood that trickle down his chest. With dazed breaths, Ryan stumbled as fast as he could with a bloody knife gingerly in hand; away from the shadow of a gentleman clown appearing enormously on the wall, as it whistled the Wolf's theme from "Peter and the Wolf" loudly.

As he made his way down the corridor he made out an exotic looking beautiful young woman whose blue eyes and black hair complemented her pale complexion. She wore a white, ethereal, radiant dress and black choker. The true human marvel held out her arms to him with a brilliant warm loving smile. But the closer he got the more she seemed to fade from his darkening sight.

"Come … back …" he called out. Her happy grin turned into a sad longing before she lowered her arms, and walked away from Ryan. "_Mary_ … Come … Back." He reached out for her, but without a useful arm to support his weight, he collapsed on the floor face down. Turning his head he watched his vision of the woman shed one last mournful tear before she dissipated. Through the dissipation a new figure walked into view and shadowed over him.

"_Dad" _

It surprised John how easy he remembered his way around the school. He blamed his mom and their crazy six hour stakeouts the weekend before school started. Though he had originally hated the idea, it was actually becoming a fond memory. What could have been torturous situation, turned into fun hours of him telling jokes, and his mom doing bad air guitar to Led Zeppelin all the while introducing the cyborg in the back seat to classic rock, or, as he liked to call it, the life blood of the Connor family. Now he couldn't imagine sitting in a car with the woman he loved for thirty minutes much less six hours. He used to think that was because he'd grown up, and seen that the hunt for Skynet wasn't a game that two best friends and a cyborg were playing. But now, after everything, he understood that maybe it was just because of how far he had fallen from the people who cared about him.

When the young man first initially reentered the school, he thought it might be a lot harder to find the clown and his future soldier. But he found rather quickly that his adversary was quite loud and obnoxious, being able to hear him whistling near the old auto shop class John use to take with Morris.

As he got closer, he noticed the outline of a shadow limping toward him. John noticed that this shadow wasn't obese, and he jogged toward it. The handsome man was reaching out for him and mumbling as he fell to the ground. John took a knee next to the man and noticed that he had deep gashes on his face and blood was starting to pool under him. John turned him over to see a stab wound in his lower chest.

"Hang on … I'm going to get you out of here." John reassured the soldier, removing his tux jacket. Wadding it in his hand, he pressed it to the puncture wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

"HEHEHEHE"

Hearing the jackal-like chuckle, John looked up to see the dapper dressed psychopath standing several paces from him. There was a small jolt of sadistic pride from John as he saw that with each laugh the clown was spitting out globs of blood where his teeth should have been.

Standing up determinedly John strode forward and grabbed the gladius weapon and flipped it several times, before settling with an upside down fighting position, taking a stance. Both circled one another in the hallway. The iron willed determination of John was showing in his sparking emerald eyes. If Sarah and Derek had been there they wouldn't have any doubt that he was Kyle Reese's baby boy. The man in front of him was out to kill the woman he loved and, just like his father, he wasn't about to let anyone hurt his girl.

With gritted teeth he took a swipe at the fat man, who moved out of the way. John continued with a smooth motion, slashing downward which the clown side stepped. Not fazed by the misses, John spun when the killer leapt at him, the clown's brat like aggressiveness earned him a deep cut to his chest. With a growl the now enraged clown turned, only to be struck in the face with a trained kick. With a sickening crack the clown's nose went out of place. Driven by blind rage, the child like clown tossed a surprised arm out and hit John in the chest, sending him flying into several lockers.

CRACK

CRACK

CRACK

The sound of a large caliber pistol fired shots at the killer from the side. With a look the maniac saw Ryan with a chrome .45 in hand, aimed it at his chest. The bullets fell with clicks to the floor, stopped by the red shield. However, the distraction was all John needed as he jumped up and drove the sword like combat knife into the clown's abdomen. The sound of electrical equipment snapping and crackling came from inside the clown as he stumbled back. Little charges of electricity leapt across the fat psychopath's body. When he opened his mouth; charges flashed like strings of saliva. With jolting and shuttering the clown fell to the ground, as the body shield continued to flash on and off.

With a grunt John walked over to the clown who was lying flat on his back. After extracting the knife from gruesome clown's gut, injured, but not dead, the clown did something John didn't expect. It began to cry like a small child throwing a tantrum. It pounded the ground and kicked its legs.

Murder was in John's eyes as flashes of an injured Cameron and the cut up soldier several feet away went through his head. He wanted to kill the monster and in that moment he wanted to spill more of its blood for what it had done and what it was going to do.

John flipped the knife as he loomed over the crying clown.

* * *

Inside the Connor home the tension was thick as three females waited in the living room. Riley sat dazed on the couch, with a first aid kit on her lap while Sarah kneeled with a combination of panicked and bridled rage that she tightly reined internally. She roughly bandaged an underwear clad Cameron, who didn't flinch at the rough treatment she was receiving from the mother of the future, In fact she felt that it was justified.

When she was done, Sarah stood abruptly and seared a hateful glare at the machine that had a very human look of guilt on her face.

"Riley, can you take that back upstairs … I need to talk to Cameron." She said shortly not sparing the traumatized girls feelings. With a quiet nod, she trudged up the stairs. The living room was left in silence as Sarah began to pace in front of the scantily clad beauty like a caged wild animal, while she looked for a way to start.

"Sarah …" Cameron began.

"Shut up!" the woman snapped at the limp girl. Stopping, the worried mother rounded on her. "You were sent here to keep John safe! And is he safe? No … No he isn't because he's off doing for you what you should've been doing for him! He doesn't protect you, you protect him and if you're not doing your job, then what's to stop me from incinerating every last bolt!" she ranted ending with a dark look.

"What's stopping you?" Cameron asked, not in a challenging manner.

Sarah was at a loss of words at the query, she responded by folding her arms and walking to the window, looking out at the empty driveway. She hoped with all her soul that Derek could get to John before anything happened.

* * *

An hour has passed from the start of the gunfight before the sound of police sirens finally echoed through the silent halls of the empty school. Alone, flat on his back, a clown sat bawling for his mother, a woman the clone's predecessor had killed at the age of nine. The wounded soldier and his teenage father were long gone, and he was all alone in the dark school, or so he thought. The sound of heavy boots thumped menacingly next to the child-esque maniac. A large muscular man in a metallic opera mask that reflected the red and blue flashing lights of the police sirens looked down upon him.

"I told you that Connor was my kill, not yours …" he had a silent murderous rage for the now obnoxiously, loudly bawling clown. "Not only have you failed to heed my warnings, but you also failed to kill the metal witch, and now you'll pay the price." He kneeled next to the thrashing clown.

The sobs where stifled by a sickening snap.

* * *

Sarah sat in tears as the hours flew by. She had wanted to go with Derek, but he told her to stay put and not get involved. She was not even close to being ready for a fight in her condition. She had sworn, since the first time she felt the little fetus kick, that she would die to protect what was growing in her. But now, here she was sitting on a couch with a crippled, underwear clad cyborg, and a snoozing, traumatized teenage girl. Now all she could do was wait and pray that she had trained her boy, her purpose, enough to keep him alive.

"_Kyle, if you're out there please, please keep our baby safe."_ She squeezed her eyes shut and began begging the spirit of her soldier, if he were out there, to bring the embodiment of their lifetime of love home. In her darkest hour of need she felt a familiar hand stroke her cheek. Opening her eyes she could have sworn she saw kind blues again, but there was nothing there.

At the sound of the front door opening, and strained grunts coming from it as the door closed, Sarah rushed out of her seat and ran to the doorway. There was John, in a blood stained, white button down with the man she had befriended from the party and Kacy's diner. He was in a black trench coat, pressed to John's back with one of his arms draped over her boy's chest so that he could be pulled.

"Oh my god John, what happened?"

John gave a grim chuckle.

"To be blunt … Never going to the circus again."


	7. Theseus and Ariadne

**Theseus and Ariadne**

_The sound of leaking water dribbled like clockwork. Four drops, followed by a down pour of beating water, before an unseen force, or a lull in the flow from the source, stubbed the leak. Several seconds later it began again. _

_Ryan counted the droplets to distract himself from the beautiful young woman who sat next to him. Sarah watched the soldier who sat on the stone slab with his knees to his chest. _

_The now scruffy Connor looked ragged, as he refused to change into the white prison scrubs given to him, not conforming to the machines' will or dress code. The olive green fatigue shirt and navy t-shirt were now threadbare, and his muddy brown motorcycle boots were wrinkled and stained with grime. His face was covered with heavy stubble and his curled locks were disheveled. _

_For the last several months, each day Sarah would come into Ryan's dark, dank cell and sit next to him. Day after day she would greet him, and day after day he would ignore her. She never said anything before her goodbyes. She would just sit for hours at a time, in the dark, watching his every facial feature, memorizing every scar, big and small. The youthful clone wasn't sure why she was there, or what was drawing her to the man. But she spent every second she could with him, despite his dismissal of her existence. _

_That was until one night, in the wee hours of the morning when the girl was supposed to be in her quarters, she decided instead to sneak out and see the soldier._ _Sarah was counting the rhythmic dripping when a deep and water-deprived scratchy voice spoke for the first time in months. _

"_Was it real? Was any of it … was any of you, real?" _

_The question was more philosophical in sound than the prisoner had intended, and it took the young woman by surprise causing her to jump at the sound of the voice. She snapped her head toward the man and seemed to be at a loss for words. She had become so used to their silent sit downs that she had forgotten what she would say if he ever chose to speak to her. Sarah looked into pools of caramel that appeared as hard as the molded stone cell around them. She wanted to comfort him, tell him that it was, but she owed him the truth. _

"_No, what my father …" she stopped and almost gagged on her comment. "What __**Skynet **__showed you, was a ghost on a chip implanted in my cerebral cortex." She explained. Ryan scoffed and thumped his head back against the wall. _

"_So, it was all a trick … everything you told me, everything that we did. It was all a lie." He chuckled bitterly to mask the deep pain in his heart. Youthful and bright green eyes that no longer were hardened seemed struck deeply by the young man's comment. _

"_The woman that was in my memories … she wasn't real. But the feelings, those are real …" Sarah stopped herself as it came to her attention that she had been pleading with him, clutching his soiled fatigue shirt. _

_Ryan didn't say anything as he looked down at her grip. Sarah knew that she should let Ryan go, but she couldn't bring herself to. She didn't want to let him go for fear that if she released him he would leave her forever, despite being in a cell._

_After a moment of desperate silence, the officer sighed with great emotional pain. He looked into Sarah's eyes, searching for some answer, or divine shot in the dark, to his confusion on the shambles of his broken life. _

"_Why do you keep coming here …? You're not my blood; you're not my friend … why?" He sounded frustrated and coarse, tired of the mind games, weary of the attrition his love had suffered. _

_Tears stained the girl's cheeks as she refused to look the older man in the eyes. Instead, she stared a hole in the officer's chest, as if trying to see into his world-wearied heart. _

"_My entire life I've been the wife of a man who I thought was great … I spent my life having obedience to my husband and to Skynet drilled into my mind … a year ago I would never have dreamed that I would be sitting in the deepest, darkest cell, wanting, sometimes needing, to see the face of a Connor." Her tears were large, and came from deep self-reflection the girl had undertaken in the moment the soldier had asked her the question. _

"_What's changed then?" Ryan asked. _

"_Me … I changed, because of you." She looked up at him. "You're the first person who has ever shown me unconditional love. When Sarah Connor took over I remember how she felt when you talked to her, when you teased her with small witty quips, how safe and secured she felt when you held her in her sleep. But now that she's gone I … I don't know how to live without that. For the first time in my life I truly know what it was like to be loved. I'm not sure how I can give you up and let you rot away in this prison." She chanced a bold move and touched his hard, stubbled and grimy cheek affectionately._

"_I need that feeling … I want you to love me." Sarah sniffled, shaking her head with a small whimper. _

_The Officer's glassy eyes reflected the dead look of heart break that sat in his soul._

"_How can I do that? After what you've taken from me." He looked as numb as he felt. The young woman squinted in confusion as tears rolled down her cheeks._

"_What have I taken from you that I can't give back?" She spoke as if she had broken something important, and was in a rush to fix it. Ryan sniffled in constricted rage and breathed slowly. _

"_**Her**__ … you've taken her away from me." He shook his head at her, gritting his teeth. "When I was little my mom was a hard girl to be around, she never was capable of showing the emotion or caring to comfort a scared child. My father never had the time, nor the patience, for fear and I learned bravery quickly out in the fringes of the world. But when I was alone in the mountains, or on a ship to Asia by myself, I use to think how much better my life could have been with my grandmother there. I used to stare at the pictures of her until I was too tired to stay awake. And when I was scared or lonely on those long dark nights, I used to imagine what she would say to me. Imagine her strong arms around me, protecting me from all the things I didn't understand, or from the uncertain future." Ryan's voice broke as he spoke, his left eye produced a tear that glided down his cheek cleansing a clean streak on his dirty face. "Sarah Connor was all I had left … and you took her from me, and perverted her memories and mine … and now when I think of her all I'll see is your damned face!" He slapped his chest as if he was showing how she tore her from his heart._

"_You turned my hope into a Nightmare!"_

* * *

"Hold me down, mom. We need to keep pressure on the wound."

Inside the dining room of the Baum household a raven haired soldier from the future lay flat on his back upon a table. His black coat was removed, and sitting in the grip of a traumatized blond. She was clutching the worn out fabric of the uniformed overcoat like it was a security blanket to hug in a moment of fear as she watched a teenage boy, and his still confused mother, as they worked quickly to hold off the bleeding. Next to Riley, Cameron sat paralyzed and propped on the couch, watching with a put-off look on her face as John's back obscured the progress of the two Connor's trauma on the time traveling stranger.

Sarah had a mixed look of puzzlement and adrenalin. One moment she was waiting on John to come home safe, the next she was sweating from nerves while holding her palms down on top of John's hands that were placing pressure on a puncture wound inflicted on a man who she seemed to have an unusual connection and affection for.

"I think we got a plug on it …" John panted, motioning Sarah to ease off. With startled breaths she nodded and did as directed slowly sliding her hands off John's bloody ones. With a shaky sigh he removed his hand off the bloody chest. Both exchanged looks as the wounded soldier breathed shallowly in a comatose state. John wiped his brow off with his forearm.

"What the hell is going on, John?" Sarah demanded, motioning to the wounded man. John caught his breath a moment.

"We were at the dance and some clown attacked us … it was one of them." John gave Sarah poignant look, motioning to Riley as if reminding his mother that she was close.

"_Metal?" _she whispered privately.

John shook his head looking at the soldier who appeared very weak. There was a deep sorrow that hit John, and he wasn't sure why. A burning in his gut to make this better for the man, a mad need to make him better was driving him nuts.

"I don't know what it was, but it was barely human." He replied with a sigh. Sarah bit her lip and flashed a worried look toward her child.

"Is it still out there?" she asked wearily.

John shook his head, again turning to flash a reassuring, roughshod look Cameron's way. "No … I took care of it." He was talking more to the couch ridden underwear-clad girl.

There was something in Cameron's face that reflected ache and human-like shame at the subtext of his message. Cameron wasn't the only one. Sarah closed her eyes and felt sorely disappointed in herself for not finding a way to somehow protect her boy from taking another life.

"_Why didn't you protect me when I had Sarkissian by the throat … why didn't you protect me from that!" _

"I'm so sorry, John." Sarah blurted out as if answering the pained voice that shouted inside her mind. The young man slipped a shrug in while cleaning his hands.

"There wasn't anything you could've done … It gave me no choice and I made it pay for the lives it took."

The sadness Sarah was feeling soon melted away, and a startled sense of fear bloomed in her chest in its stead. In her boy's voice there was no remorse or guilt of taking a life like before, instead he seemed to have a grateful, almost sadistic, sense of thrill as he recounted it in his head.

"_No one will take her from me." _John muttered quietly.

"John …" Sarah called upon hearing it. He snapped from his vengeful musing to Sarah, who had a look of fear and worry on her face. John lowered his head a little.

"Mom, can you watch him …" he asked without looking at her, not wanting to ever see anyone looking at him like she was, like he was a murderer.

Sarah turned back to the soldier who was wheezing softly with each breath. She nodded and walked back into the dining area.

John chanced a glance and watched his mom stand over the man. She looked conflicted for a moment, as if she wanted to do something. After a moment she took a breath and pulled a chair toward her. She sat, and with a bite to her lip, she gingerly took the man's hand in hers and soon seemed to be transfixed on him. For some reason unknown to him it brought a small smile to his face.

Despite what had been said about her, and what Sarah had wanted people to think, she was still a caring human being. John remembered one time, several days after Derek had been shot, he and Cameron had come home from school to find his mother on the couch with his injured uncle's head in her lap, stroking his hair gently while she watched television.

Leaving Sarah to her musings John turned to the two girls on the couch.

"Riley can we talk …" he asked, taking the overcoat from her grip gently. The blond girl watched with a small hurt expression as John draped it over Cameron comfortingly. Cameron didn't seem to have a very grateful look to her, but more of a blank stare that somehow seemed to scream pained resolve.

Riley nodded and stood to which John led her out the door.

The sounds of the cold night echoed down the quiet street. Cicadas chirped around the yard, the light sound of Bruce Springsteen softly played from an open window of Kacy's house. Riley crossed her arms and stood apart from John as the two tried to find something to say to each other.

"I …" Both teens said at the same time and paused, there was a small scoffed chuckle from John. "I'm not sure what I can say to you about tonight." He sighed looking into her blue eyes. Riley shifted emotionally.

"You don't have to say anything John … not until you're ready." There were tears in her eyes. John shot her a suspicious look, but didn't say anything, just nodded. Finality to their conversation loomed over the night.

"Riley what happened here, I would appreciate it if you …" John started hesitantly, knowing what he was about to ask of someone clearly traumatized by what happened.

"I won't tell anyone, John." She cut him off.

"Thanks" he nodded and looked at his shoes a moment. "You should go." He motioned to her foster family's SUV parked next to the curve. John awkwardly placed a warm and bloody hand on her arm, leaving a hand print on her moisturized skin. He withdrew his hand quickly when he became aware of the stain. The girl looked to her arm a moment, then back at John, doing her best to give him one of her laid back smiles, but she just couldn't seem to do it.

Not looking back John left her alone outside, and walked into the house closing the door. When he was gone, Riley broke down into sobs and wrapped her arms around her waist as if trying to comfort herself with a hug. Sniffling quietly she pulled a cell phone out of her bag and punched several numbers. She waited with a whimper. When there was a crackle from the other line she sniffled again.

"I need you …"

* * *

By now there was a crowd of concerned parents and faculty sitting outside a police car perimeter surrounding the high school. In the parking lot a fleet of bubble gum lights flashed brightly and near the four main exits empty SWAT team trucks blocked the entrance.

Derek walked quickly behind the pack of demanding citizens and news reporters who were clamoring for answers about what had happened inside. He rubbed his soul patch nervously, meeting a petite, slim Asian woman with long, thick black hair who had her hands in her Australian surplus military jacket.

"Jess, you find him?" he asked looking around. She shook her head at her boyfriend.

"Sorry babe." The woman's Australian accent had a twinge of uncertainty. "Everything is going to be carrots and apples." She smiled, rubbing his arm affectionately. Derek scowled at her choice of words, never taking her unusual quips seriously. He neurotically moved away from her and went back to double check just in case he missed John by pure accident.

"_I'll make sure he's safe." _

Jesse's inner monologue was interrupted by her phone buzzing in her jacket. Flipping her hair, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the cellular and flipped it open.

"Hello"

_**"I need you …"**_

Glaring at the sound of crying on the other line the woman huffed in irritation, twitching her lip dangerously.

"Sweetheart, master yourself …" She coached, examining her nails a moment as she heard several calming breaths. "Now what happened?" She asked now watching Derek converse with a police officer.

_**"I ... Just need to see you, please?"**_ Riley begged.

"I'm a little busy, sweetie." She reprimanded lightly seeing the scruffy soldier's conversation with the policemen wrapping up.

_**"Please, Jesse, Please, just an hour."**_ Riley begged on the other line. Jesse sighed, agitatedly frumping her hair in thought.

"Alright Luv, all meet you at the usual place." She sighed and hung up as Derek made his way toward her again.

"I'm going to go back to the house and see if he's there." he addressed the woman.

"Why not call and ask?" she shrugged.

Derek shook his head at the question. "I'm not going to call Sarah without having John first. I'm not going to get her hopes up only to smash her heart with pointless questions … I couldn't do that to her." The man seemed caring and protective of the woman. The ugly fire of Jealousy reared its ugly head inside Jesse.

"How come you never talk about me like that?" She shot with a possessive hitch in her voice, though trying to pass it off as a joke. The soldier gave her a glare that said this wasn't the time for one of these talks. Reeling slightly, Jesse back tracked with a coy, flirty smile and got up on her tiptoes expecting a kiss, but Derek instead took a step back.

"I got to go." He said, and walked off leaving Jesse to herself with a suspicious look of her own.

* * *

_The sound of silence was broken in the claustrophobic dungeon cell as the metal door in the cubic room lurched open widely, and a completely naked large, muscular man with wispy hair walked in and stood before the prisoner. Ryan squinted and turned away from the bright white light of the clean hospital-like hall outside. Giving himself a moment to readjust his eyes to the light, the Lieutenant gave the T-800 a defiant smirk._

"_You forget something when you got out of the shower this morning, sunshine?" He asked the machine sarcastically. The Terminator shifted its strong jaw emotionlessly at the officer's dry self-amusing humor. _

"_You have been summoned." The machine's voice had a hard to understand Austrian accent. Ryan scoffed at the statement. _

"_You're going to have to tell them to reschedule … I'm busy today." Ryan motioned for the machine to get out. _

_The Terminator paused before it lumbered forward, snatched the young man by the neck and dragged him out of the cell and into the hall. _

* * *

John had spent the last twenty minutes upstairs cleaning himself off, and changing into a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. While he changed he thought of Riley, and felt a sting of insensitivity at her tears. He didn't feel right leaving Riley out like that, but what else could he do? He had to fix Cameron, and he couldn't do that with her there.

Walking down the stairs he made a lazy b-line towards the couch where Cameron lay observing the coat draped tenderly over her unresponsive body. He checked on his mother and their patient to find her running a gentle hand through the man's hair and gazing upon him with fascination. His soft wheezes could be heard in the living room.

"He's badly injured …" Cameron stated, looking up from her observation of the silver eagle wing on the left arm of the black stitched field jacket.

"Yeah, I know … we got the bleeding to stop, but he might need a transfusion." John nodded, folding his arms and giving Cameron a good a once over. "How are you?" he asked.

"The clown has disabled my HUD and motor functions. I'm mostly paralyzed." She explained.

John kneeled next to her. "Is there anything I can do to fix it?" he grabbed her hand and lifted her limp arm up and then down again in a silent test. Cameron shook her head in response.

"I believe there is a restraining bolt on my chip hatch sending an electric current that is disabling my movements." She frowned as she explained.

"Alright …" John paused when he noticed that he had Cameron's hand in his. Both stopped and looked into one another eyes. John gave her a smile that could have caused some girls to faint. Cameron, however, only blinked with a look of some hidden resolve behind the mask of a pleasant smile. After a beat John stood and walked over to Cameron's head and opened a circular flap of her scalp. On the metal skull he saw a small round device with a black light flash on and off. John touched it with his hand only to get zapped.

"OW!" John jumped back shaking his hand. Cameron jolted and her eyes glowed blue a beat before returning to normal.

"J ... J … John, please don't do that again." Cameron twitched out in a voice touched with fear. John kissed the electrical burn on his fingers.

"Yeah, trust me, I won't." he commiserated. He sighed and examined the device.

"I think it might have remote access." Cameron called over to him. Then, as if on cue, something jarred loose out of the officer's black overcoat and hit the floor next to the couch. Intrigued John walked over and picked it up.

"What is it?" Cameron asked as she watched John examine it. The young man scoffed at the device in his hand.

"I'll be damned …" he snorted, looked to the table at the wounded soldier, then moved the instrument into the girls viewing range. "He swiped the remote." He chuckled as Cameron looked at the small black control pad.

"It's the one to the far right." She said to him. John raised it up, pointed it at Cameron, and then pressed the button down hard, causing his arm to dip. There was a click and a whirr that followed. Once again Cameron's eyes glowed a brilliant blue before they powered down. With a passive face, she bent her waist and got to her feet, tossing away the coat that was defending her modesty. She reached up, picked the restraining bolt off her head and crushed it in her hand. Motioning John out of the way, the girl did two ballet steps in perfect sequence, before she jumped gracefully and spun. When she was finished she struck a pose. John gave her an impressed quirk of an eyebrow.

"I feel better." She dead panned.

"Yeah you do …" the teen said with a playful grin, pushing a strayed lock of curled hair behind her ear. Cameron noticed that his hands lingered in her silky hair for several moments.

"John … I'm not fully clothed." She stated emotionlessly. However, John knew better. Her admission was as good as a nervous girl about to be kissed by the boy of her dreams.

"I don't care." He said dismissively.

Cameron had seen that look in his future self's eyes before. It told of a desire and a passion to get something, whether it was a Skynet factory, or the freedom of trapped prisoners. Cameron also knew that there was no standing in the way of the sheer force of John Connor's will. To make his point, John reached out and strafed a hand over her perfectly smooth bare belly. She found it strangely gratifying and it brought a small sense of comfort. The two brushed lips lightly as John continued stroking her taut abdomen.

"_No …" _

"_Get away … from me." _

"NO, you keep away from me!"

"John!" a familiar voice called over shouting.

* * *

Sarah sat on a chair and stared at the face of a handsome, shirtless man lying in front of her on the dining room table. A hard wince came over the woman as she observed the deep cuts embedded on the man's face that appeared like a wild animal mauling. Three cuts above his left eye told the tale of a bronze knuckle graze, and a ghastly looking slash across the bridge of his nose were fine accompaniments to the diagonal scar across his right eye.

She noticed that those weren't the only cuts on the man. There were bullet indentions on his well-built, muscular upper body, as well as a nasty collection of precise lacerations that looked a lot like the scars she carried from her fight with the T-1000. However on further inspection it looked like the man had several run ins with a T-1000.

There was a discrepancy with the man's hands as well. While the fingers on his right hand in Sarah's grasp where off angled due to a history of breaks, the fingers on his left were perfectly straight and even.

She couldn't help herself due to instinct when she ran her finger through his hair almost lovingly. She felt weird in doing so, because not only was he a stranger, but the way the mountains of black curls brushed through her finger she swore it felt exactly the same way her hair felt when she did it.

"OW!"

Sarah snapped her head to see John shaking his hand while standing over Cameron. Seeing that he was alright, she turned back and gave another look at the man under her.

He was only the third living future soldier she had met, and only the second officer. She remembered the first time meeting him. The man had shown a great concern for her, she could see it in his eyes, even after nosing through his journal. Then at Kacy's party he called her beautiful, and even engaged in some playful banter that made her feel so young all of the sudden. Sarah smiled and regarded him softly, hoping to return the kindness he had shown her. He looked familiar, very familiar and yet she couldn't place him.

Suddenly she saw his eyes start to rotate from side to side under his lids. Bracing herself, Sarah did her best to comfort him by stroking his hair as he started to blink open his eyes. He stared at her a moment and she gave him the gentlest smile and nodded.

"Welcome back …" she spoke softly in a low docile tone. The soldier started, as if she were looming over him with a knife.

"No …!" he protested, shaking his head trying to throw off her hand. Taken aback by the reaction, Sarah touched his cheek comfortingly.

"Hey, it's alright … you're okay." She tried to reassure him in her best motherly voice.

"Get away … from me!" he called deliriously, fighting her.

"Hey, calm down!" She called to him, fearing that he might begin to bleed out again.

"NO … You Keep away from me!" yelled at her. Seeing him going nuts, Sarah turned back to the living room.

"John!" she called as she held the soldier down.

She heard two pairs of footsteps walk into the dining area.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"I don't know … he just woke up and started to panic." She answered.

"She's a liar … all she does is lie!" he accused the woman over him trying to get away from her. John ran up next to Sarah and helped hold him down.

"Hey, it's alright … rest easy." John called him. However, the sight of John next to Sarah sent him into frenzy.

"She's a killer! She kills … she's a monster." He called shaking his head at her. Sarah gritted her teeth at the insults coming at her.

"Cameron, come hold him down while I get a sedative." John called. Cameron walked passively to him and pressed her hands down on the man's shoulders, effectively pinning him to the table.

"Please remain calm." She offered to him with all the warmth and comfort of an automated voice. John rushed out of the room and up the stairs to Cameron and his bathroom.

"Keep her away from me!" The man begged the teenage girl in a fearful, childlike manner.

The tone felt like a slap to Sarah's face. She thought she would never see the day that a Resistance soldier, an officer, was more comfortable with the touch of a machine, than with hers. His reaction reminded her of Derek's to Cameron when he was shot. He was ranting, and then pleading for Sarah to protect him from a metal monster that he fought all his life against and Sarah had been more than willing to let Cameron have it, to isolate her from the men she cared about. But now she was eating the smug attitude of that day, because now she was receiving the business end of a future soldier's fear and hatred.

The sound of the front door opened and closed. Sarah looked up to see Derek wander into the living room.

"Reese!" she called, not remembering a time she could have needed him more. Shedding his jacket, Derek rushed in and looked at the man on the table.

"Christ, _Robin_" He muttered with panicked concern what was clearly a nickname. Sarah snapped her head at the oldest Reese with a look of shock and anger not only at the fact that he was on first name basis with the wounded man, but he had been keeping a secret from her.

"Derek! … Derek, she's going to kill him … she's a liar!" he ranted deliriously. Derek loomed over the man.

"Ryan, listen to me! You need to calm down, alright, just calm down." He coached sternly with concern. Ryan kept looking at Cameron, who suddenly seemed to be frozen in human shock.

"Cameron …" Sarah turned catching on to the girl's very human expression of sudden bewilderment toward the man who, for some reason, was concentrating on the beauty as much as she was on him. "Cameron!" Sarah pushed the girl when she didn't answer.

"He's bleeding out." The cyborg said and moved quickly to put pressure on the wound that was once again starting to bleed. Sarah and Derek exchanged glances at the tone. It was slight, but to anyone who knew her it was as good as hysterical.

The sound of someone thundering down the stairs marked the return of John. Rushing through the door the teen had a capped syringe in hand, on instinct he handed it to his mom. Biting the cap off, Sarah looked for a place to stick the needle.

"No … No … Keep that _**bitch**_ away from me!" Ryan yelled in fear, squirming away from Sarah, causing blood to gush in between Cameron's fingers. The name calling only made the woman more determined to be the one to give him the shot herself. She moved to inject him when a hand caught her wrist. She turned to find Derek restraining her hand.

"Give it to me." He commanded holding his hand out.

Sarah snarled at the forceful command in his voice. When she didn't comply he took it out of her hand, turning away from her he handed it back to John.

"You need to get out of here." Derek looked back at Sarah.

Now she was truly outraged. She had never taken orders well and no matter what was going on Sarah Connor didn't obey commands being barked at her. Stubbornness overtook Sarah and she crossed her arms and shot a deadly look at Derek.

"You don't give me orders in my house …" she spat venom at the scruffy man.

"GET OUT!"

Everyone was startled at the tone of what was usually a monotonous and innocent voice yell out in what sounded like frustration. Turning the three uninjured human's sought out the cyborg that was the unmistakable owner of the harsh voice. Cameron was staring icicles at Sarah and regarded the woman with a look that said test me. Sarah was about to addresses the teen's tone when John spoke up.

"Mom … come on!" he shouted at her.

Anger and frustration at being considered the problem fumed from Sarah. She felt like everyone was silently accusing her of something she obviously didn't do. Seeing the glaring faces of her family Sarah gave a growl of disgust and stormed out of the room slamming the double glass doors behind her. Cameron watched Sarah leave before she looked back down at the soldier who was gazing back up at her.

**SCANNING FOR FACIAL RECOGNITION …**

**65 PERCENT PARTIAL MATCH TO SELF **

**BLOOD TYPE: O NEGATIVE**

**CHROMOSOME MATCH TO TARGET JOHN CONNOR**

**ANALYSIS: FULLY GROWN SUBJECT PRODUCED THROUGH SELF COMMANDED USE OF GENERAL ORDER 66**

* * *

_The inside of an elegantly lit and decorated dining room that looked like something out of Bram Stoker's Dracula, or a gothic fairy tale, was quiet. The candles flickering on the table seemed to shadow the impatience that swelled amongst the three occupants of the room. _

_The woman at the head of the table was older, with poofy salt and pepper curls. She wore a black, skin-tight, plastic-like dress that pushed up her cleavage. She seemed to lounge back proudly, taking in the sight of the girl sitting to the side closest to the door. The teenage girl, with long, perfectly curled brunette hair wore a slinky silver dress. She sat shooting suspicious glances at the older woman._

_On the other side of the table sat an early college-aged woman, her long black hair was pinned back and braided in places. She was fit in a white silk gown that played off her milky complexion beautifully. Her lips had a deep shade of red that gave the rest of her a look of purity, though her face was a mixture of fear and sadness. _

_The black haired youth's hand was held in the tight grip of an, extremely tall man with a brilliant, almost unrealistic, handsome face framed by shiny blond locks. His sleek and muscular body was covered by a grey and gold uniform specially tailored for him. There was an almost sense of vain superiority in his blue eyes as he played with a flickering candle, touching the tip of the flame with amusement._

"_Darling, don't do that …" the older woman chastised the man with a whimsical sigh to her slurred English accent._

_The man glared and huffed at her impatiently, turning irritably to the girl next to him. She broke her eye contact with the door long enough to give him a rough smile, to which he kissed her hand passionately. _

"_Ryan should have been here ten minutes ago …" Cameron spoke up coldly fixing the old woman with deadly contempt. The recipient of the accusation merely smiled and took a breadstick from a basket near her and bit into it. _

"_Come now, Bebe … I sent the T-800 to get him." She chewed and swallowed. "These things take time, especially when it comes to your own bebe." she winked and continued to munch. After a long moment there was a large thud from outside that startled the table. Commotion sounded loudly. _"_See, what mommy told you?" she sighed and ignored the sound of a plasma rifle going off. Cameron shot out of seat at the sound. _

_The door crashed open, and a T-800 head rolled into the room, a plasma hole through the eye. The sound of a struggle preceded the body of a shabby man with black curls and heavy stubble being thrown into the room. Ryan hit the wall and immediately got into a martial arts stance. A naked body builder came into vision taking a swing at the soldier. Ryan jerked out of the way, pushing the 800 into the wall with a loud slam, like a matador eluding a charging bull. The hands of another machine threw him onto the dining room table with a heavy landing that dumped candles and overturned glasses. _

_The officer groaned in pain as he lay flat on the end. Just as the machine advanced on the winded soldier, Cameron defensively walked in front of the young man. She gripped the terminators head and broke its neck, then with a frozen mask of death, she tossed it back into the wall. When three more endoskeletons arrived in the room they looked to advance on the mother and son. The sound of three distinct claps from the older woman at the head of the table halted them. _

"_That will be all for now." The woman ordered the machines away. _

_With a grunt, Ryan was helped to his feet, then held supported by Cameron. Squinting, the young man looked at the strange setting around him._

"_I suddenly feel underdressed." He snarked, wrapping his arm snuggly around Cameron's waist, looking for an unrealized, residual childhood sense of safety in a new surrounding that he felt uncomfortable in. _

"_Welcome …" the older woman greeted. _

"_We would be delighted if you would join us Mr. Connor." _

* * *

Sarah paced the floor over and over. She was angry at her family who had dismissed her from the dining room like a small child. She was even more frustrated that for some reason every time John sends someone back to help them, they end up mortally wounded on her kitchen table. But also Sarah was hurt; she always wanted to be feared, to make everyone scared that she could snap at any point, it gave her power over people and situations. However, she never wished to be feared the way the wounded man did, and more to the point, she may have a hardened heart but it was still a heart. So when the soldier called her names such as "Monster" and "Bitch" she would admit it stung her, especially from someone she couldn't help but care about.

She was wiping her glassy eyes when one of the double doors opened and Derek strode out. He did not give Sarah a glance as he disappeared outside, but not before he took a fire poker from the fireplace. John walked out of the room and toward his mother.

"Hey …" he said cautiously. Sarah fixed him with a withering glare for his dismissal of her earlier. John shuttered a little and shrank in it.

"How's he doing?" she asked, pressing her death glare.

"Cameron's got the bleeding stopped … for now." He answered with hesitation, looking back into the room. Sarah followed to find the girl keeping pressure on the wound. She seemed to have a deep concentration on the man who seemed to have passed out again.

"Hey … what he said about you … I'm sure he thought you were someone else." John did his best comforting voice, but Sarah instead just glared at him with a look of stubbornness.

"John!" Derek came back into the house holding the fire poker in a gloved hand. The tip of the iron instrument was glowing red and giving off heat. "Go hold him down." The man ordered his nephew.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sarah's chest felt like it was made of ice as she called in alarm at her roommate as John left her side.

"We can't move him so I'm going to close the wound the only way I know how." He stated evenly and brushed past her. She watched with horror when he walked into the room.

"Ryan … this is going to hurt." Sarah heard Cameron say in a docile tone taking his hand, while John held him down.

Without a warning there was a sound of a loud sizzle.

"GUHAH!"

The glass door was kick shut to muffle the scream.

* * *

A silver car drove up on the edge of a cliff-face parking lot. The view of the city was perfect, with all the skyscrapers in clear view accompanied by the little sparkling lights of the surroundings neighborhoods.

Jesse turned off her car and got out to look around for Riley. Suddenly, the shadow of a girl threw itself into Jesse's arms sobbing desperately.

"HE LEFT ME!" Riley screamed in tears, burying her face into Jesse's chest.

The Asian woman frowned in confusion at the jumbled mumbling from the girl. "Sweetie … what's going on?" She pried the girl off her and looked at her tear washed face. Riley just sobbed. Angrily, Jesse slapped Riley across the face. "Get a hold of yourself!" she shook the girl.

With tender sniffles Riley nodded and took a deep breath. The submarine commander felt that she had taken it over the line with the slap, so to reassure the girl she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the nasty red welt on Riley's cheek.

"Now tell me all that happened, baby." She gave her a motherly hug and slung an arm around the teen's waist.

"Well, we… we were at the dance and… and there was this clown there, and he was coming after Cameron when a soldier from the future in a black trench coat… He opened fire… and..." Riley started to cry again

Inwardly, Jesse felt like slapping the girl again for being so weak but outwardly, she simply shushed the girl. "Come on, sweetheart …" the woman rubbed the girl's bare arm warmly.

"John jumped to protect Cameron…" she sobbed. "He left me all alone… he didn't care if I got shot and died… when it mattered the most, he protected the machine." She buried her head into the crook of Jesse's neck.

"_Damn it… it's already starting." _

"It's okay, baby. We'll just have to push a little harder." Jesse said distractedly. Riley looked up into the petite woman's dark eyes.

"Jesse … you care about me, right?" The girl asked through a sniffle. It seemed the girl's entire life hung in the balance of her answer.

Jesse looked down and smiled broadly. "Oh, come on, you know I love you." She lied to the girl's fragile blue sparkling orbs. "Now tell me about this soldier that protected the machine?" Jesse pushed now, that she had Riley in a comfortable zone.

"The machine said that he was an officer like you and that he was going to stop the clown that was after her. He also referred to her as John's girlfriend." Talking about something else seemed to be helping Riley and it was a plus to Jesse that there was anger and hatred in the girl's voice.

Suddenly, Something turned in Jesse's mind, she couldn't fathom anyone wanting to protect Connor's little metal whore. Unless …

"What did this soldier look like?" she asked cautiously.

"He was tall, handsome, he had black curly hair like Sarah… Oh and he had this scar across his right eye." Riley described it by trailing her finger down her eye, to show the exact length and shape. She flinched at Jesse's dark look.

"Is there something wrong?" Riley asked.

"Looks like Connor and the whore's little Robin left the nest."

"When I got your message I got here as fast as I could."

Sarah had the door open, letting a haggard Charlie Dixon in the house. He looked like he had been in the middle of some "me" time when he haphazardly rushed out the door. His blue uniform shirt was open and his normal shoes seemed to clash with his black work pants. His EMS bag was slung over his shoulder.

"To tell the truth I didn't expect you to call… ever." He said, his eyes sparking with some long lost hope. There was something inside Sarah that was still drawn to that spark that Charlie had always had in him, but, at the same time, she knew that that was the past and this was now.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

Both Charlie and Sarah turned away from their intimate eye contact and toward Derek Reese, who had been on his way out of the dining room to have a small heart to heart with Sarah about things. Only to come in and find her making eyes with her ex, whom Derek hadn't, and probably never would approve of.

"Sarah asked me here." Charlie responded icily to the rugged man. "Said there was another injured guy on her dining room table." The paramedic's comment had an accusation laced in it, silently pointing at Derek's inability to do something about the situation.

"It's none of your concern." The soldier shot, crossing his arms in a show of defiance to Charlie's presence.

"No, it's my concern and it's my decision!" Sarah bared her teeth at the Reese boy.

"Oh yeah? Well he's one of my men and he's my responsibility… so that makes it my call." He shot back. Sarah was surprised and a little flabbergasted at the worry and defensiveness in Derek's voice. As if he was scared of anyone or anything he didn't know or trust to even go near the injured man.

"Are you really going to do this? There is a man's life on the line here!" Charlie shouted at Derek.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He responded with an experienced shrug.

There was a part of Sarah that wondered if this was what Derek was like with Kyle when he was sick or injured. That same look of hawk-like protectiveness and animal sense of territory of someone he viewed as his responsibility to make sure they made it out in one piece.

"This is ridiculous!" Charlie blurted out and moved forward, attempting to brush past Derek into the dining room.

On a dime, Derek turned and slammed the older man into the glass door frame, drew a pistol from the waist band of his jeans and pushed the barrel into the man's buzz-cut head.

"Test me… I dare you." There was no hesitation in the junior officer's voice, and little room for error from Charlie's end.

"Drop the weapon!" The click of a hammer cocking on a pistol sounded over the tense silence. Sarah pointed Ryan's scratched and scared chromed .45 at Derek. John rushed in and put himself right into Sarah's line of fire.

"Mom, lower the gun." He commanded, pointing at her forcefully. She immediately lowered the weapon in the fear of hitting John. Next he turned to Derek.

"Derek, let him go." He ordered calmly. There was a familiar gruff and mature tone to John's voice that inspired immediate obedience from the lieutenant. He pushed off the paramedic and removed the gun.

"This is your last get out of jail free card… garbage man." Derek warned Charlie as he returned the gun to his waistband. Sarah hated the nickname Derek had for Paramedics.

John glared at his uncle, but gave a nod in which he silently promised he would watch Charlie, though he believed he wouldn't need to. After a beat, he led the man inside the room where Cameron still stood in her underwear. She held the injured soldier's hand with a look of disbelief, almost as if the machine was having a hard time believing the injured soldier actually existed at all.

The living room was silent with lingering tension as Derek and Sarah stood alone. Slowly, murder creeped into the beautiful woman's hardened pools of emerald, as if unsure what she was doing, she raised the Colt and pointed it at the man in front of the dining room doorway. Derek reacted with surprise at this threat.

"You gonna shoot me?" He asked with a turn, squaring his shoulders to give her a better shot. Sarah glared at the action.

"I'd talk me out of it." She warned. Derek shook his head.

"Oh no … I'm not going to, but I wanna know why?" He pushed, taking several steps toward her. The woman unconsciously took several backwards.

"You threatened Charlie…" She closed her eyes at the emptiness to her excuse. Derek continued to move forward, while Sarah moved back till she was pressed with her back against the front door. The barrel of the well-used weapon was digging into Derek's chest.

"Quit the bullshit. You're not going to shoot me." Derek's tone was so even that, with all the blood roaring in her ears, it sounded to Sarah as if he was whispering. He then turned to walk away. A flame of passion burned right through Sarah, and before she knew it she had Derek by his long sleeve and slammed his back against the door.

"What makes you say that?" She growled aggressively, trying not to notice how close their faces were. Derek soulful eyes didn't portray a cent of emotion as he snorted dismissively at the question.

"Because of this…" Derek motioned his head toward the weapon pressed into his diaphragm. "This is you going through the motions. Pretending to be outraged, trying to act out how you think you should react to what happened." His voice was low, and his hands were slowly moving hers apart, pushing the barrel away from him.

"And why would I do that?" she whispered, their lips where just inches apart.

Derek didn't reply, his hand reached up and touched her hair, feeling the curls intertwine in his fingers. Sarah shook her head getting his palm on her cheek. It was like a lighting strike to feel her skin against his, a jolt of Passion and need shuttered through her, making her gasp at the contact against her skin. The pistol dropped with a thud as she pulled him against her suddenly.

The kiss was just like their last. It was soul consuming, and Sarah felt as if electricity was crackling around them like a TDE bubble. She nearly lost herself in him. She tried to fight the warm and complete feelings swelling in her chest. That feeling was linked to a dream, a dream of a happy ending with a white picket fence, and of a real home with a man's love. It was something that hurt to dream about. It was a Dream she never thought she would have with Derek Reese of all people, but she couldn't deny the chemistry, the passion, and that right feeling she had holding him like she was.

Trying to pull out of the passionate connection that she never thought she could ever have with anyone else was like trying to wake up early on a lazy Sunday. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled on the back his hair, forcing him to break the kiss before it was too late. He was as breathless as she was. She rubbed her smooth, milky cheek against his hard stubble and pressed her lips close to his ear panting softly and sweetly.

"_I want you to get out of my house." _She whispered dangerously, hating him for what he was doing to her, for breaching her defenses for that one perfect moment.

Derek nodded with a sobering look of the same confusion plaguing Sarah. He looked as surprised at what he had done as she was. When he finally stepped back there was softness in his hazel green eyes as he regarded her. He wanted to say something, but instead walked back and collected his jacket, balking again with parting words. She closed the door as soon as he walked out, though she let her hand linger on the base of the door a moment.

"Mom …"

Sarah looked up to see John standing several feet away; his face seemed sympathetic as if he could somehow read her longing pain.

"How long have you been standing there?" She cleared her throat, composing herself.

"Not long…" He shrugged gingerly. Sarah saw right through her Child's tell and knew he was lying. However, she spared him and herself the details of what had just happened, and the fact that he hadn't seen that look of pure love on her face in his entire life.

"Charlie wants you." John folded his arms. The comment struck Sarah like a bat, and a small river of hollow obligation rushed through her.

"What I mean is … our patient might need a blood transfusion, and you two are almost an exact match according to Cameron." He corrected himself maybe a little too quickly when he saw her stricken look.

She nodded her head, and started toward the dining room with John at her side.

* * *

John had felt ashamed that he didn't have the faith in his mother, but now he was impressed. Despite what the stranger had done in his delirium, causing Sarah to be sent out of the room, she still volunteered to donate some of her blood.

John watched from the kitchen, leaning on the doorway. Sarah sat in a chair in a ratty, thread-bare tank top and blue windbreaker pants, her gray cut up sweatshirt tossed to the side. A plastic tube stuck out of her inner elbow as blood traveled through the clear device and into the unconscious man who was still wheezing. His lower chest was puffy and red around the edges of the black burn where Derek had cauterized his wound.

A sense of overwhelming relief overcame john when he realized that the captain was out of the woods. He felt like he owed him not only for saving Cameron, but Fighting off Skynet's monster so that she could getaway. It was somewhat of a surprise to John to see someone from the future give it all to protect a machine; he couldn't imagine Derek doing something like that for his protector.

Turning to the girl in question he found Cameron standing by the man's side, holding his hand tightly as she had since just before the cauterization. There was an unreadable look on her face, which made John curious of what she was thinking about. He pondered if she was also somehow grateful to the soldier for saving her life. The young hero also found it interesting how in Ryan's moments of fear and confusion that he would reach out to Cameron for comfort and consolation. Even more to the point, how she had answered, taking his hand and keeping herself in his eyesight.

John looked to Cameron's scantily clad exterior and cleared his throat.

"Cameron why don't you go upstairs and change into some clothes, you're probably cold." He suggested eyeing her with a once over.

She squinted at her best friend and turned back to the man.

"I don't believe that's necessary … I'm fine here." She answered in a docile reassurance.

"Do what he says girlie." Sarah glared, clearly being of the firm opinion that it was much better when she wore clothes. The cyborg hesitated at the command.

"He might wake up …" She claimed.

If John didn't know better he would've thought that his protector's attitude mirrored that of a new born baby's mother, scared to move two feet away, because of the uncertainty of a second that her charge would spend alone.

"If he does than we'll give him another sedative." Sarah argued back.

Cameron looked at Ryan, who was in a less than peaceful slumber. Reluctantly she unhanded him and walked out of the room. Silently John slipped into the kitchen unseen and used the main entrance to pursue Cameron.

Alone in the room Sarah sat observing the soldier on the table, feeling every movement she made was walking on egg shells to avoid triggering another freak out.

"So this guy is another time traveler?" Charlie asked with his arms folded. Sarah nodded and sighed, feeling a little light headed from the blood transfer. Charlie sneered slightly at him. "I'm starting to sense a pattern of jackassery from Johnny's soldier boys here." He snorted in amusement, remembering the unpleasant exchange in the diner several weeks back.

"They all seem to have a chip on their shoulder." She agreed, shifting her weight on the hard kitchen chair. Sarah could tell Charlie was watching her, and she couldn't handle that look he was giving her. It was a look that said he was all chips in when it came to this life, when it came to her. But, every time she thought about it, all she could think about was Derek and those kisses that took all of her and her feelings. Sensing the discomfort Charlie decided to check her blood pressure.

"You're almost done… I need to get something out of the truck." He placed his hand on her bare shoulder before leaving. Sarah stared at her shoulder, knowing that his touch should be enough, that a year ago it was all she wanted to go back to, but now …

_"She … she needs me."_ Sarah saw that Ryan was muttering in his coma. She gingerly shushed him, trying to avoid any distinction in her voice.

"No… she's in trouble… I have to protect her, she's my last hope." He fought her consolation.

"Who?" Sarah tried to understand what was going on in his fevered mind.

"I got to save … got to save …" He blindly reached out his hand. Not knowing why, she reached out and took the wandering hand in hers. "You." A tear streaked from his left eye when his hazed eyes opened and saw her face.

She couldn't understand why, but her eyes glassed over. "It's okay … I'm alright." She pressed his hand to her cheek to let him feel that what she was saying was true.

"I'll be safe, now."

She leaned down and planted a small chaste kiss for comfort.

* * *

It was dark ascent to the upstairs floor of the two-storied Baum home, but John didn't mind. As he reached the top, he saw that all of the lights to on the floor were off. Despite the darkness there were distinct sounds of shuffling and moving around. With a knowing smile he walked farther down the hall and into Cameron's room.

Inside, all the lights of her room were shut off, however a brilliant and broad beam of moonlight was shining into the middle of the pink bedroom. In front of the window, Cameron stood at the sill, watching outside. She was clad in a tight, long silk, strappy nightgown. She hadn't washed the makeup off her face, and due to some trick she had once explained to him her curls hadn't fallen out. She took his breath away and he hadn't even seen her face yet.

"Hello John" she deadpanned without looking back.

"Hey" he smiled leaning against the door frame.

"It's still outside." She observed silently. John chuckled lightly at her statement.

"It's been known to happen." He said in an off-hand manner, with a slight turn of his head. Cameron nodded in agreement.

"You killed someone tonight." She stated, neither pulling any punch nor turning to face him. John's light mood turned cold and he shifted uncomfortably.

"That _thing _wasn't a person." He corrected her with a twinge of hatred.

"Either way you risked your life again to save mine …" she was unmoving, unchanging in her tone.

Her comment unearthed something he had desperately tried to bury. He saved her life twice now, just like she had saved his. He wasn't keeping score, to him it was just what they do, what friends do, what people who …

"I would do it again in a heartbeat." He walked into the room trying to be as bold as his statement, to show her that he was a man of action.

"I know you would …" Cameron wasn't flinching or hesitant of her knowledge of this fact. "That is why I can't trust you." She followed it up.

The young man couldn't have been hurt more if she had taken a sludge hammer to his testicles. There was that phrase about trust again and oh how John hated it.

"What part don't you get of that is what people who … people who _**love each other**_ do, they protect one another." He ranted to the statuesque, ethereal beauty. A part of John couldn't believe that he had just said that to her, yet another was telling him it was about time.

"I can't allow that." She addressed his point stoically.

"Well that is just too damn bad, isn't it?" he spat at her.

"John, my mission is to protect you. Yet you impede it by making rash decisions when I'm endangered." She displayed no emotion to her reasoning.

"That's what people do when they care for someone."

"But I'm not a someone, I'm an it."

"No … don't you go there."

"John"

"Cameron, don't say it."

"I'm a machine."

"Cameron!"

"I'm programmed to protect you. I know nothing of love or care. I protect you and nothing more, because I am nothing more than what a program allows me to be. I'm sorry John." Her voice was unemotional and there were no flaws to her tone, not even an unsure whimper.

"How …" a tear slid down his cheek. "How can you say that to me? After all that you have said, after all we've been through and done tonight. How could you say that to me?" John's voice growled in frustration, holding back pain that could possibly leave him in a fetal ball. Cameron paused a moment.

"I told you what you needed to hear, to keep you away from danger." She replied coolly.

"No …" John gritted. "No … that's what you're doing to yourself right now! You're scared of what you feel because it's not natural. You're telling yourself what you want to hear so that **you** don't have to face it. Go on ahead … try to convince yourself, but you don't fool me … you're not an _It,_ you're a **coward**!" He walked out of her room, slamming the door.

Steady streams of tears ran down Cameron's face.

"Goodbye John."

* * *

Sarah bandaged her arm in her bedroom, a half-eaten stack of cookies on a napkin where on her night stand. Her mind was elsewhere, than on her task.

It had been a tough night for her. Still recovering from a virus, she was worried nearly to death when John rushed into a dangerous situation. Then just as she got him back, she was thrown into assisting on the care of a Resistance fighter she thought that she might be falling for a little bit. While also finally realizing what her feelings for her not-so-distant brother in-law meant.

It was plain to the thoroughly tired woman that she was in fact, for the first time since she was eighteen, in love with someone. It was true that she had loved Charlie, but even when she wore his ring she always had one foot out the door. But with Derek, there would be no running this time, and if she committed, she was full in. But she knew it wasn't right. What would Kyle say to her if he were here, what would John say to find out that she was in love with another Reese. She couldn't trust herself or him.

This night was a perfect example of why she couldn't love him. He had kept secrets about the mystery Tech-Com officer, about where he's been the last several months, about why he always smelled lightly of perfume and sex, and he had lied about killing Andy. Sarah couldn't possibly be in love with someone who had lied to her so much, but then what makes her any different.

"_No" She_ shook her head defiantly.

"Hey …" Turning she saw Charlie standing at her doorway. "The machine … Cameron is moving your guy into her room, is that cool?" he asked tossing his thumb behind him. Sarah shrugged passively.

"She doesn't use the bed, I don't see why not." She answered shortly. The bandage unraveled for a third time, causing her to growl in frustration.

"Let me help you with that." Charlie smiled at her. He walked up, took her arm and began to wrap it correctly. Sarah watched him work with a helpful smile that could be misconstrued as teasing. It was something she loved about him, but now it seemed so hollow as if it was a part of another life belonging to a familiar stranger.

"_No, this is who it should be; this should be the man you love, you should be fighting to get back to. He's honest, loves you and your son. He's not a tortured fighter who lies and is the brother of your Soldier."_

"You okay?" Charlie broke her musing; he placed a worried hand on her cheek. Her eyes watered as he stroked the sensitive skin.

"_I'll show you … this is what you want." _

Sarah leaned in and kissed Charlie hungrily with a sense of urgency. At first he returned the kiss, receiving what he had been wanting back for eight years now. However, he stopped when he felt desperation in her touch and kiss, as if she were rushing.

"Sarah, are you sure this is what you want?" he asked sensing something off about her.

"_See he cares" _

The woman walked over to her door and closed it. Then when she returned, Sarah grabbed the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head, revealing a creamy satin bra that fit her bust beautifully. Next she slid off her wind breaker pants, exposing matching satin panties. Charlie was speechless at her actions. She watched him a moment, and when he didn't react, she walked past him and laid flat on the bed posing herself in an inviting manner.

"Charlie … please." She begged slightly. "I need you." She nodded, her voice breaking.

He gave it another moment, then he sank down on the bed kissing her again. This time he didn't break off, or give anything another thought. He kissed down her neck, nibbling on her sensitive skin as he removed his EMS shirt. She let out a content breath at his attack of her sensitive spot. Now on top he began kissing down her chest, stopping to nip and suck at her covered nipples. Quickly he unhooked her bra and it joined the pile of clothing.

"_This is the way it's supposed to be. This is who and what you're fighting for."_

* * *

"What am I doing?"

It had been a long time since Derek Reese had sat on top of a car hood near this highway sign counting the familiar street lights of a lost desert road used as a short cut by tired truckers.

It was a place his father had shown Derek when he was in kindergarten. He and his father had spent a lot of time in this spot in the days when it was his dad's time to have him during his parent's brief separation. That, however, had changed quickly when his mother became pregnant; the too-young couple had snapped back like a rubber band at the news of the upcoming child. It was another reason Derek loved Kyle so much, if it wasn't for him their parents may never have been reminded why they loved each other.

As a teen, Derek often came here by himself and watched the semis blow by. It was a good place to think, and get his head right on the problems plaguing his life; most of the time it was about a girl. But, Sarah Connor wasn't the same as some preppy airhead named Tori Martin who didn't like his DJ work. He looked down the empty darkened road and sighed.

There was a voice in the back of Derek's head demanding to know what he thought he was doing. He had a girlfriend that loves him, that saved his life in his time of need. So why play romantic chicken with Sarah? He ignored the voice in his mind that sounded vaguely like his mother. It told him that the reason was that he had needed Jesse back then. She had kept him sane and given him a connection to the humanity he had all but given up on when he lost Kyle. But now that he had come to 2007, and found Sarah, he felt she was the woman that all the roads in his life led him to and that every experience and trauma had prepared him for. Essentially she was the one and only for Derek. He could fight it, and be pissed about it, but that was just fact.

"_What does Freud say about guys who want to punch their moms for high jacking their son's consciousness?"_

Sighing, Derek rubbed his face tiredly. He knew that the time for games and putting things off were over, and that he had to choose. It was an easy choice for his heart, but tough on his reasoning, with so many strings and complications, but he couldn't think of someone more worth it.

He jumped off the hood and walked around to the driver's side. He was willing to fighting his way through a hail of lead being fired at him by the woman to whom he just wanted to say three words, that could make or break the rest of his life.

"_**Goodnight, Derek" **_

The sound of a cold, autonomous, mechanical voice greeted him as he turned the corner to his front door. The figure was petite and had a sleek feminine build. She wore skin tight blue jeans tucked into black combat boots. A black padded, collarless motorcycle jacket covered her entire slim body, and a shiny blood-red helmet with shaded framed eye slits sat covering her entire head.

Derek froze at the sudden appearance of the stranger. The red masked female snapped back a black gloved hand, and threw it at the soldier

_**Crack!**_


	8. Sewer Slam

**Sewer Slam**

The early southern California sun's tanning rays streamed through the slightly open blinds of a two story home outside of Los Angeles, bathing a beautiful naked woman's bare back with light warmth.

Sarah groaned at the caress of her smooth skin as she lay belly down on her bed with only a linen sheet covering her buttocks. She opened her eyes with a slight hazy flicker and searched the spot next to her to find no one there. She lifted her head off the pillow and blew a stray lock of raven hair that was tickling her nose. She sat up and squinted as the sunlight hit her face full force.

Putting up a shielding hand, she observed her bed and found it to be a mess of tangled sheets mixed with a pair of satin panties. It didn't take the completely nude figure long to remember the previous night of desperate love making and even if she hadn't, the content soreness in her lower stomach and the cramp in her muscular thighs would have gone a long way in jogging her memory.

"_Did Derek ever come back?" _

She was shocked when she realized that was what was on her mind first, not where Charlie was, or what am I going to do about last night? It was simply a question about where was that smug son of a bitch who made her feel something she shouldn't be feeling, not anymore, not without her solider being there. No one was supposed to make her feel that way again- not even Charlie. But then Charlie was for John, wasn't he? Derek … Derek was blood, was in her blood?

Ugh, why did she care so much about it? He could be dead in a ditch and she would consider him lucky, because that's mercy compared to what she was going to do to him when he walks through that door.

The aroma of breakfast meat slithered under the crack of her door and captured Sarah's sense of smell. A smile broke out over her face as she pulled the panties on. Back in Nebraska, Charlie use to make exquisite breakfasts after nights like the one they just had. She could remember the last time it happened was after their night of passion when he proposed to her. She woke up, got dressed, and came into the kitchen to find Charlie and John at the stove cooking and laughing. Sarah had smiled and come up behind John, wrapping her arms around him and put her chin on his shoulder, watching them. She remembered that moment, because she thought that she had finally given her baby what he dreamed of, a real family.

After everything last night, after John taking another life, Sarah couldn't help but think that her boy needed a morning like that again. A morning of the three of them sitting down at the table, smiling and joking with maybe a dog milling about for scraps.

CRASH!

"YOU SLEEZY BASTARD!"

The sound of a voice thundered in rage like Sarah had never heard before, she felt like a deer in the woods at a hunter's misaim. She jolted in an upright position. What was that? Sitting topless on her bed she felt a rush of adrenalin. Suddenly she heard a crash, followed by the sound of pans and skillets falling to the floor.

Sarah finally got ahold of her wits enough to know something was going on downstairs in the kitchen. Quickly, the mother slipped on a tank top and grabbed a hand gun from her nightstand; she burst out of her room, her feet carried her with loud thuds down the stairs. Coming down the corner to the first landing she spotted the front door hanging open and a petite figure standing in the doorway, paused, trying to hear what was going on in the house. Without hesitation Sarah trained the fire arm in hand at the designer jeans and purple jacketed figure.

Cameron glanced up at Sarah, puzzled at the threat, especially when she had several shopping bags of clothing clasped in her grip, not her Glock. Sarah lowered her weapon hesitantly, that was until she heard sickening thuds coming from the kitchen. Both Sarah and Cameron exchanged looks. Dropping the bags, Cameron raced behind Sarah into the kitchen.

Upon entering, the woman, who had such fantasies of this morning, saw her memories of the dream family shatter. John had Charlie pinned on the kitchen island and was unleashing a barbaric beating of such animal-like anger on the man who had his hands up in a reasoning manner. Sarah could hardly see the boy she raised in those hateful, predatory eyes; they were shining and angry. He looked so much like an animal, so inhuman, it scared her frozen for a second.

"John" Cameron called. Sarah was shaken back into reality and surprise at the cyborg's appearance. But, even the boy's best friend's voice fell on deaf ears as John began to slam the paramedics head on the counter viciously. In a moment of clarity, Sarah understood that John might just kill him.

Maybe Sarah wasn't the only one who saw this, because without a word, Cameron brushed past the shocked mother and pulled John off the older man. The girl fought, restraining him as he bucked and fought like a wild animal to get at Charlie. Sarah was still in shock, watching with a dazed sense of horror at her child being dragged away as if he needed a tranquilizer and a cage in the zoo.

As they passed, Sarah saw that John had a swollen, black eye and a cut lip that looked several hours old. He wore the same clothing as the previous night, except that there was blood staining his white T-shirt that didn't look like it came from him, his leather motorcycle jacket was torn in places, and there was a stench of alcohol to him.

"Sarah …" Charlie groaned getting to his feet and wobbling a little to which she rushed to support him. "I didn't hit him …" he reassured her.

"I know you didn't" Sarah knew that despite Charlie's tough "weekend biker" look, if it came down to a fight Charlie couldn't touch her son even if he tried. "What's going on?" she asked checking his injuries, which consisted of a nose bleeding like a faucet and purple black eye and a semi dislocated jaw.

"I don't know …" He seemed genially in shock. "He came in through the back door, asked if I had been here all night, and I said yes. Then he asked me where I slept and I told him the truth … he just came at me, I never had a chance." He explained shaking his head with a demeanor akin to just surviving a plane crash.

"They never do." Sarah remembered all the principles and counselors that she talked to every time John had gotten in to a fight in school. It was always the same story, whether it was bullies, or horny jocks misinterpreting a pretty girls cries of protests as a yes, they all said the same thing; John came out of nowhere and there was never an opponent standing.

"I think I should go." Charlie coughed shuffling toward the backdoor as to not have a second round with John.

"Charlie …" Sarah pursued a step. He paused; finding Sarah, both looked at one another knowing that their sexual encounter had to be discussed.

"I'll come back … later." He nodded and turned and exited the house. Sarah watched him go with a bite to her lip as she leaned a mostly naked hip on the island counter. Running her hand through her curls, thinking of the hard truths that had to be told when later finally came.

"Let me go, goddammit!"

"John, you must remain calm."

Sarah glared, the end tables were squealing, and picture frames were tipping over. She put on her best stern mother face, storming out of the kitchen, into the living room where Cameron fought to restrain John. Cameron's eyes almost seeming sympathetic, almost as if she might have something to do with why he was like this.

"Hey … HEY! What the hell's the matter with you?!" Sarah growled in more surprise at his frighteningly rabid attitude, than anger at his unwarranted attack on a man she thought he saw as a father.

"He's a doubled faced bastard, who's using you!" he yelled at her. She crossed her arms and gave a confused look to Cameron who seemed passive at the claim.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah tilted her head, fixing her son with a menacing look.

"I'm sure he led you …!" He strained to free himself, but to no avail. "LED YOU … on about how he won't leave you … how much he loves you, all to draw you in!" John ranted hotly. Sarah had to blink hard, because she could swear she was hearing Kyle's desperate almost hysterical voice trying to get her to see the reality of something. She suddenly wanted to touch him … to feel him, to know he's real. "But he doesn't mean it, he just telling you **what you want to hear**!" the teen gritted his teeth as he spoke harshly, just as Kyle would.

Sarah couldn't fathom where this was coming from, or what was going on in her child's head that brought on this line of thinking. She wasn't sure about a lot of what was going on, but Sarah Connor was sure it had to do with that look of dejection on the machine's face when she turned her head away with a flicker of emotion that Sarah was sure she was imagining.

"Why would Charlie, of all people, do that?" she shrugged, humoring her son's accusations with a glare of disbelief.

"Isn't obvious …" John's voice had so much venom in it, she felt infected just being near him. The teen motioned to her half naked appearance. "To get you out of your panties," he spat and then paused with a sneer. "And you didn't disappoint." He said with a twisting disgust that broke Sarah's soul in that one nightmarish moment.

He hit a nerve cluster in her heart, and it was such a painful blow that she swore she blacked out, and a deep shamed rage took over. When she came to John was out of Cameron's grip and slammed against a wall where Sarah was inches away. There was a red welt on the side of John's face from a slap that now joined the collection of his other mysterious injuries.

"You!" Her voice was high and emotional. "You … You don't ever …" she couldn't remember what she was going to say. What could she say to that? "Not ever." She didn't notice the tears running down her face. The young man's eyes lightened, and for a second she saw her boy again as he searched for the words to redeem what he had just said to her. Feeling emotion threatening to overcome her usually iron willed wall of surliness, she let go of John and stormed up the stairs.

John sat slumped on the wall breathing heavily and slowly he slid to the ground and covered his face in shame at what he had done, to a woman he wanted to protect from those judgments. Cameron watched him pensively, before she joined him. She watched him breath in and out, a tell-tale sign of crying. Cameron observed her hand, then John, back to her, before slowly reached out stroking John's hair comfortingly.

He gave a relaxed breath, but then tensed as if hit with a memory and flinched from her touch.

"You … don't you touch me!" he slammed the wall as he got to his feet and stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him, leaving Cameron by herself.

* * *

Sarah rushed up the stairs and turned the corner slamming the door to the random room she had blindly taken shelter in. Closing her eyes the woman placed her back on the door and slid down to the floor, hugging her knees and burying her face in them.

The look and statements made by John were unequivocally her worst nightmare. When she was younger, and hooking up and shacking up with men who could teach her things, she always kept John at arm's length, never letting him live with her and the mark. It was always motel rooms for the little boy. She told him and herself it was to put him out of harm's way, as well as to give the sultry beauty the look of an unattached drifter that was always up for anything and everything. But, the truth was that she didn't want John to see her other faces. She always wanted him to see her as his mother, his warrior protector, and his best friend. Not the party girl, the sex bunny, and not the woman who would get what she wanted on her knees. Who took money from people, and shook down shop owners for protection money for her "boyfriends" She never wanted her son to think less of her for using her body as a tool or to gain an advantage, or used her skills to terrorize defenseless people to gain money and street credit.

"_He … he didn't mean it." _

A voice called weakly to Sarah who stifled her private sobbing. She looked up to see that she was in fact in Cameron's unused and seldom occupied room. She found the injured soldier from last night that she had almost forgotten about.

Sarah was slightly embarrassed at her tears in front of the Tech-Com officer who was lying under the covers in Cameron's bed. She had a reputation to maintain, being the mother of the future and all. She wiped her eyes and got to her feet. Walking over, she could see that Cameron had attended to him over night. His cauterized wound was bandaged tightly around his chest and on the nightstand was a mostly empty bottle of water, next to pain killers.

"_He says things he doesn't mean when he's really angry … he projects." _The man explained making the same projector clicking motion that John had done in his own delirious state, Sarah counted that as odd and yet made her feel very close to him.

"I know … he's a lot like …" She started. Without much thought, she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed comfortably, familiarly.

"_You…" _a dazed but knowing smile graced the soldier's handsome face, but it also made the scarring look much more prominent. Sarah snorted with a small sniffle.

"Yeah … like me." She smiled. Maternal fingers drawn to his face, tracing the deep cuts lightly. It was only for a second before she noticed what she was doing, and moved her finger away, with a blush.

"_That makes sense." _The officer nodded his own head weakly, smiling at her scolded cat reaction. Sarah shifted her eyes playfully and leaned down a little closer.

"How's that?" she asked pushing her bangs to the side and slapped her bare thighs slightly.

"_Both of you are legendary pains in the ass." _he coughed a laugh at his own response. Sarah now had a grin on her face at the light hearted teasing that was making her feel better.

"Is that right …" She responded with a mock murderous voice. The man smiled at the danger in her tone.

"_If you strike me down … I'll become more powerful than you can imagine." _He bluffed. Sarah chuckled at the movie quote and shook her head. There was a pause between the two as she could tell that he must have used up the last of his strength making her feel better, because it looked like unconsciousness was taking him again.

Slowly the man reached up and placed a hand on her thigh.

"_He loves you … he'll always love you … no matter what." _He consoled as he drifted away. Sarah took the hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I know …" she nodded, watching him drift back into his dreams.

"You shouldn't be in here."

Sarah turned at the cold voice to see Cameron standing at the doorway with clothing bags in hand. There was a scowl on her face that Sarah would dare say was protective. The woman glared and placed the man's hand at his side gently and stood. Before she left, she leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss defiantly.

"Don't tell me what to do."

* * *

The echoing of gushing water sounded with an almost deafening roar that woke Derek with a startle.

Though he had his eyes open, he couldn't see anything due to a piece of cloth tied across his eyes. He quickly moved to remove it, but he felt restraints like a rope binding his hands behind his back. However he noticed that it was tied over his jacket sleeves, which was a surprising move. Most times kidnappers tie wrists bare so the more you struggle the more it hurts, however whoever had snatched him had taken a different route. Derek sat up and wiggled his feet, finding them free and unbound. Popping up to a crouching position the soldier listened carefully at the sound of rushing water.

"_Rushing water … lots of it. Smells like street run off … concrete below my feet. I'm in a sewer tunnel."_ He concluded as he slowly stood to full height. Oddly enough, the roaring water came from below him as well as the continuous rush of the foul smelling street-water air.

Cautiously, Derek turned and hung a foot to the side, keeping level with his stationary one, only to find nothing there. He staggered at the dip and returned his leg to solid ground.

"_**I'd be careful Derek … it's a thin walkway and such a long drop." **_

An emotionless mechanical voice that he recognized from his last seconds of consciousness cautioned him. Derek snapped his head to the nearby source.

"What is it you want?" He asked with angry growl

"_**Always straight to the point … no time for anything else, right?" **_

"That's me …" Derek answered, steadying himself to make sure he had a foothold on the invisible, thin walkway.

"_**I want Sarah dead." **_The voice answered point blank.

The soldier gritted his teeth at the answer, but laughed mockingly.

"Sarah's not coming after me, if that's why I'm here." There was no remorse in the comment or hesitation at the prospect of the reality. He wouldn't want her to come after him, not at the expense of her and John's safety.

"_I won't be the bastard that brings metal down on the Connors." _

"_**Then what good are you?" **_

Like a clamp, a slim, female, leather-clad hand snatched him by the neck, lifting him off the ground and raising him over the side. Derek couldn't see, but he knew most likely he was being held over a chasm of rushing sewer below.

"_**You know how many times I've thought about this … just killing you … just wanting you dead?" **_

"Then I'm dead … because I'll never let you anywhere near her." Derek spat at his captor. Suddenly, Derek felt the hand let go and felt the sinking feeling of falling.

Not sure where he was going to land, or if these were his last seconds. All he could see was two kids playing baseball in the park, and the feeling of a raven haired beauty in a Grecian queen costume stroking his cheek lovingly as he sat on a picnic table.

The air in his lungs seemed to be crushed out of him as he felt his stomach and lower chest hit a strip of concrete lingering in the air. He coughed out painfully, while his upper and lower body formed a U over what felt like another concrete service walkway. The sound of a loud thud landing on the walk way next to him announced the arrival of his captor. He felt a hand grab his jacket and lift him upright and lay him on his back on the causeway.

"_**Don't be stupid Derek … she will come for you, she'll always come for you." **_

Then he felt a combat boot slam itself into the side of face, knocking him out.

* * *

The smell of fruity shampoo and steam lingered in the bathroom as Sarah let her face be sprayed by the moderately warm shower water which cooled as it ran down her face and over her upper body.

"_What am I going to say?" _

Sarah must have been in the shower for at least an hour and a half, probably washing her body and hair at least three times each. The situation ran through her head, occupying her mind and leaving the shower tasks running on automatic in her brain.

She ran all possible versions in her head. Would she tell Charlie the truth that last night was all a big statement in her head to get away from Derek? Would she put him on hold like she had been for nine years, once again telling him that now wasn't time for a commitment like what he wanted? Or will she just send him away to let him have his normal life with some other girl?

When the woman noticed that she was reaching for the soap again she snorted, and instead turned off the shower and pulled back the curtain. After drying off, she wrapped a towel around herself and walked into her messy room. She walked to her nightstand and reached for her phone and texted John again - seeing as he wasn't answering her calls out of shame. She just wanted to talk to him and find out what had sent him over the edge. Though she could take the simple explanation and say it was him acting out for having to kill again, somehow she didn't think that was the case. She hated to admit it, but she knew it had to do with Cameron, the metal.

She hated the way he responded to it. The girl, Riley, was in their lives because of the things Cameron had said to John. Every time one pushed, the other pushed back harder. It was teenage love at its worst. She shuddered at the thought, but she kept quiet, hoping like hell that years from now she and John will be curled up on the couch with her grandchildren at their feet, and laugh about the time John thought he was in love with a machine.

**BLIP**

Sarah's phone buzzed in her hand.

Pushing a long damp lock of hair out of her face she checked a text message sent to her in the hopes it was John.

"**Missing something?"**

Frowning in puzzled confusion at the anonymous number's text, she stood still in anticipation when suddenly the phone buzzed again and it slowly loaded a picture. Sarah was dumbfounded when it showed a picture of an unconscious Derek, lying on his side, with his hands bound behind him and a bandanna blind fold tied over his eyes.

"**Deposit box 36 local post office, Van Nuys."**

In little less than two minutes Sarah was dressed in an army brown tank top, blue jeans and a leather waistcoat. She carried a duffle of guns and supplies with her as she exited her room. With determined steps she walked toward Cameron's room and heard a curious sound coming from the inside.

Through the open door Sarah spied a blooded tinged bandage piled on the girl's night stand, and a new black t-shirt on the soldier who was still under the covers. But what caught Sarah's interest was Cameron sitting on the edge of the bed and to her surprise the sound she was hearing was the machine humming gently as she held the man's hand in her lap. She seemed to be counting his fingers, almost like a new mother would her newborn baby.

"He was stirring … the sound of my vocal tones soothed him." Cameron addressed Sarah, letting her know that she saw her.

Sarah found it strange to see Cameron have such an attachment to the soldier, as if the machine had a maternal bond to the injured man.

"Where are you going?" the girl looked up at the supplies in the woman's hand.

"Out …" Sarah responded shortly, pushing away her suspicions for another day. "I want you to stay here and wait for John. When he gets back I want you to keep him here till I get back." she ordered the cyborg.

"Is there a problem?" Cameron tilted her head. The wavy haired beauty scowled at the question.

"Stay here and wait!" she snapped and stalked off.

Cameron blinked and turned back to a dreaming Ryan who had a single tear squeeze out from his shut left eye. Looking at her hand a moment she mimicked a motion she had seen Sarah do time and time again. She gently touched his cheek for comfort; the teen was surprised when the man turned into her touch, and muttered quietly, trapped in a flashback of some sort.

"_The ends don't justify the means, momma." _

* * *

"_This is absolutely the wrong thing to do!" _

"_It wouldn't be the first time." _

The conversation that Sarah had with Derek before they had rushed off to save Charlie's now ex-wife from a now junked Cromartie ran through her brain.

Just like then, this was the wrong thing to do. The safe bet was to find John, stuff him in the back and get out of town and leave that scruffy jackass to his destiny. But Sarah knew that she was never the paragon of good judgment. If anyone is going to put a bullet in Derek Thomas Reese's head it was going to be her. Tossing her bag into the back of the jeep, she slammed the door and as she opened the driver side door she jumped to find Cameron in the passenger's seat staring at her.

"Dammit, Cameron!" she slapped her thighs angrily. The girl tilted her head at her fake yet at the same time surrogate mother. "I thought I told you to stay here and wait for John." She gritted her teeth at the cyborg.

"If you're going into danger, then my presence will increase your chances in combat. Plus, John will not listen to me when he comes home … I left him a note, in your hand writing." Cameron explained. There was a pause before Cameron buckled her seat belt and returned her stare toward Sarah in anticipation.

"Fine …" she huffed and got in.

As they drove off, a dark SUV sat idle before a gravelly, mechanical, echoing voice spoke from the tinted backseat. "Follow them."

* * *

"What did you say to John?" Sarah asked, as the two females stood in line at the post office. Cameron turned from her analysis of how to better organize the mail sorting so that they wouldn't have to sit in line.

"I didn't say anything." She responded innocently. Sarah gave her a glare that said the she didn't believe the claim.

"I know my boy … and I know that what happened this morning. What he accused Charlie of was nothing more than him projecting his feelings on a situation because he doesn't want me to be as hurt as he has. So that begs the question … what the hell happened between the two of you?" Sarah spat silently at the cyborg.

Cameron relented at the mother's applied logic.

"We had a disagreement on the course of action and standing of our respective positions to one another." There was a hint of something in the voice of girl next to her, which Sarah picked up on, but was so foreign that she couldn't make it out.

"Which means in English?" she turned to Cameron with a shake of her head. Cameron scowled with a face that Sarah almost anticipated a "None of your business" to follow up her question.

"You got what you wanted." Cameron replied almost angrily and walked to the counter where a skinny, shaggy man with a "Han shot first" T-shirt was waving them toward him frantically.

The two stood in front of the counter where the man that looked older than both Sarah and Cameron seemed to be entranced with both females.

"So what can I get the _Gilmore girls _today?" The man snickered at his own joke. Sarah sighed and pressed her lips together in an irritated smile, while her partner tilted her head in confusion.

"Box 36" Sarah cut off whatever Cameron was going to say as she opened her mouth. The man spent a minute liberally ogling the teenage girl's see through white tank top before turning to retrieve the content inside the box.

Sarah folded her arms and tapped her boot, not knowing how much time Derek had left. Feeling eyes on the back of her head she turned to look at Cameron who seemed pensive.

"What?" she scoffed defensively.

"If you are Lorelei and I'm Rory … then what does that make John?" the girl's tone was in complete fascination. Sarah growled and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She was relieved when the nerd came back with a large roll of blue paper that looked about the size of a poster before "Rory" could press her question.

Just as the man was about to say something, Sarah snatched the document from his grip and walked away. Cameron lingered and watched the man stare at Sarah's butt. When he turned back to the angelic beauty she frowned.

"No Greedo did."

"Yeah, like you know!"

Sarah glared at the nasal sound of the nerd yelling as Cameron walked out of the post office building.

"There is a time and place for everything … girlie." She glared when the teen walked up and observed the blueprint unrolled on the hood of the jeep. "Do recognize this?" She asked confused about the white lines and random intersections that didn't look like any building she had ever seen.

"It's the downtown Los Angeles sewer system." Cameron answered immediately, as if she had been shown the back of her hand.

"You know this place?" she turned crossing her arms. The angelic metal maiden nodded and met eyes with Sarah.

"After Judgment Day, John will turn it into the western Tech-Com army's main base before the retaking of Serrano Point in 2026." She stated. Sarah looked back to the map and saw a white gel pen marking with a circle around it.

"Do you know where this is?"

* * *

_The sun was hidden behind walls of grey clouds that lingered over the desert, turning the normally burnt yellow dunes to grey tundra of dull coldness. The chill caused Mother Nature's tears to be turned to snow, which was shed over her perverse natural wonder._

_In a maze of large boulders that littered an area of the wasteland, the sound of the heavy steps of a teenage girl matched up with the wailing sound of a cold wind whistling off the rocks. Despite the cold weather, the girl wore a pair of ripped short-shorts and a cut up half shirt. Her long brunette hair was in a ponytail, yet despite her shredded work out clothing that exposed her underwear there was no signs of cuts or bruises that should have been littered over her sleek ballerina figure. _

_The girl flicked dark eyes predatorily over the area, walking stiffly through the environment, searching behind rocks. _

_A rustle of falling pebbles that shouldn't have been heard by a human being caught the girl's attention. She slowly and silently stalked around the rock of origin and saw a familiar tattered and ripped green hooded jacket that once belonged to a teenager. But now it was occupied by the shape of a much younger boy who looked to be peaking out in a crouched position watching for her, but unaware she was already there. _

_Cameron tilted her head and quietly pulled a pistol from the waistband of her shorts and pointed it at the small shadow. With two silent pops the jacket was slammed with the splats of a pair of red paint balls. She shifted in confusion when there wasn't any sound of pain or acknowledgement of being shot. Walking farther, she stopped when the jacket collapsed with a pile of rocks that it was draped over. _

_As she blinked in confusion a small body jumped out from under the sand behind her. The boy had moppy curly black hair and a bandanna tied across his head. He wore a torn and shredded grey T-shirt that had red paint splotches on the front of it, under the ruined shirt was a threadbare black long sleeve. His face was covered with cuts and bruises and he even had a black eye. He charged the girl with a chipped and red paint blotched walking stick. _

_Turning in surprise Cameron's pistol was knocked out of her hand by the ten year old Ryan who wielded the stick like a boa staff. Cameron juked her child's slash. Spinning, Ryan jolted the stick down trying to catch the girl only his senior by six years in appearance by the leg. Cameron slammed her foot down snapping the stick down an inch. Now holding it like a sword, with another spin Ryan brought the stick into the back of Cameron's knee dropping her down one leg. Cameron snatched up the pistol off the ground and tried to aim it at the boy. _

_Suddenly, Ryan hacked at Cameron's hand with a rage brought on after a week of being woken in the middle of the night. Then being taken to the middle of nowhere by his mother, abandoned, only to be relentlessly hunted a day later by her. She would attack him, not flinching and would strike him and fire paint balls at him when in range. He savagely beat the gun out of her hand and turned to strike her. _

"_Ryan … Ryan listen to me! It's okay now … it's alright now, you win … you win!" she begged, there were now tears streaming down her angelic face. All the anger and rage swelling died at her teary eyes and the boy took a deep breath and lowered his weapon. _

"_Momma … I'm really sorry if I hurt …" he started but the girl snatched him by the shirt and slammed him to the ground and suddenly a gun barrel was pointed to the boys head. _

"_You failed the test …" Cameron informed the boy emotionlessly. Ryan looked shocked as he stared into cold brown eyes, knowing that she had just thrown the fight. _

"_But … but you said …" He protested. _

"_It doesn't matter what I said. You lowered your defenses, something you never do to your enemy no matter who it may be." She informed the boy, removing the gun barrel and stood. _

"_But you're my mom … you're not my enemy!" He yelled at her angrily. Cameron holstered the pistol in her jogging shorts waistband with her back to her son. _

"_Then not only have you failed the test, but you have misunderstood the principle lesson in it." Cameron responded emotionlessly with slight irritation. The boy tossed the stick aside and got to his feet enraged. _

"_Which is what?!" he shouted at her. _

"_To do what is necessary in the protection of yourself, your family, and for humanity. You let your emotional attachment to me cloud the logic that I was your enemy and that I had attacked you. You brought me back … and it could have cost you your life." She chastised the boy poignantly. Ryan shook his head at her sadly. _

"_I couldn't hurt someone I love … no matter what they did." The boy replied quietly. Cameron turned to face her son, regarding him coldly. _

"_Then you have sunk lower than any level of disappointment I could've anticipated." She spoke with an iced tone and there was a worried sadness in her eyes at his reply. Ryan looked as if Cameron had smashed his heart into a million pieces. _

_Turning from his mother's gaze, the little boy walked and collected his inherited jacket and slipped it on. _

_With a slight sniffle he turned his deeply hurt and tears strewn eyes to face a hard look. _

"_You ask the impossible." He spat at her. _

_Shoving his hands in his pockets Ryan walked away in dejection._

* * *

Derek snarled and charged forward blindly at his captor, he could feel blood leaking from his nose. He didn't know who he was fighting, or where they were, but he had to get out from under their thumb, or die trying, or his captor was going to kill Sarah. The soldier's desperate running was halted, and he soared into the air as he felt a lazy foot trip him up. He landed face down on the walkway scraping his temple and cheek on the rough surface.

"_**Funny Derek …" **_the voice called to him in a mocking tone. Panting Derek got to his knees and turned toward the voice.

"Go to hell!" he snapped viciously, crouching on the thin causeway.

"_**I'm already there …" **_the voice replied regretfully. The blunt admission was something that Derek hadn't expected. _**"And it has shown me that I must do what's necessary to ensure the safety of …" **_the voice stopped abruptly, and the sound of groaning pipes echoed briefly before everything went silent, except for the roar of water below him.

"Ensure whose safety?" he called, but there was no answer. "Hey, answer me, goddammit! You at least owe me the truth about why you want to kill the woman I …" Derek stopped talking when the sound of heavy boots dropped onto the end of the thin bridge behind him. He stayed silent as the sound of purposeful footsteps marched toward him. He looked up when he felt a presence looming over him. With a swift tug a soft hand removed his blind fold.

With a squint Derek went from all black to semi lit darkness. Around him a dark, dank, vast concrete dungeon with piping above him, while higher sat another maintenance bridge looming over them where Derek figured he was dropped from. Below was a black abyss with little twinkles of light illuminating a powerful river of pumping water.

"Derek"

He looked up to see the angelic face of Cameron standing over him. Her face was split between predator and caution.

"Who were you talking to?" The machine asked, lifting him to his feet with one hand. He darted his eyes back and forth over the dimly lit area.

"They were here a minute ago!" he said, frantically looking around.

"Who was here a minute ago?" she asked, following his gaze around the room.

Then with the sound of weight pressure lifting off the piping above the female figure in a red helmet jumped down delivering a kick to Cameron's back, sending the cyborg stumbling forward.

The red helmeted captor landed on her feet like an experienced alley cat. Cameron turned and swiftly drew a pistol, holding it as if it was an extension of her body. The Red Mask individual caught the gun arm of the cyborg and with her free arm the villain snatched the girl by the neck and lifting her in the air. She slammed Cameron back first onto the walkway causing the sound of crackling to echo lightly at the impact.

The Red Mask pinned her foot on Cameron's splayed out gun hand hanging over the edge and pressed down. There was a groan of metallic protest and like a handicap button on a store door; Cameron's hand opened and the gun disappeared into the black abyss below.

The Terminator threw her hand out, snatching the red mask by the front of her leather motorcycle jacket and tossed her over with the help of her foot. When the female impacted on the walkway another loud crackling sounded. Rolling to her feet the red mask took a familiar martial arts stance that Derek had seen before. Cameron got to her feet and stoically stalked toward the other sleek looking female.

The cyborg reached for the red mask's neck, but was juked as if she knew it was coming. She then went for a face mashing punch, but the mystery fighter side stepped the attempt once again seeing it coming. Letting Cameron overreach, the red helmeted woman snatched the girl's wrist and brought a knee into her face and grabbing her by the back of the jeans. The villain tossed the girl farther down the walkway which now rumbled in protest.

Cameron had an irritated look as each attack she threw was anticipated and countered. It was as if she was some rooky light weight against a veteran fighter that knew all her tricks and contingencies.

Watching the fight going south for the machine, Derek turned to flee, trying to reach Sarah before she became the target. However, as he turned he was snatched by the neck by a large and powerful hand that lifted him off the ground.

The hand belonged to a large seven foot tall beastly man with large jutting muscles and arms. His face was covered with a metallic opera mask, but even in the dark Derek could see purple crazed eyes that almost glowed in the dark.

"You're standing in the way of me and my Love." The metallic, growling voice accompanied the accusatory shake.

Derek gagged at the tight grip, but none the less he gave the half man half monster a defiant glare that said he didn't give a fuck about what he was doing. He could feel the grip began to squeeze like a boa constrictor; excruciating pain began to travel through his head as he was slowly being killed.

CRACK

CRACK

Little squirts of green tinted blood sprayed out of the arm of the monster. But to Derek's surprise the bullets didn't seem to go through the man's large forearm, but merely stuck into the hardened muscle like thumb tacks.

"Let him go!" Sarah's voice echoed through the vast room with a deadly commanding tone. A sound of squeezing meat came from under the chrome mask and Derek fell wheezing to the floor.

The monster in the black tank top and fatigue pants turned to face the beautiful leather clad avenger.

"Anything for you, _Beloved_." He responded with a slight bow.

"_That name!" _

Sarah had seen it written in Cromartie's blood on the wall of the house the Terminator had held Michelle Dixon prisoner. Observing the giant, she could fathom that someone that big and muscle clad could rip off Cromartie's head. But what was turning Sarah's blood cold was the name. She had been called it before, though it was escaping her memory. She knew it was almost traumatic to hear someone, or thing, in this case call her it again.

With fear clenched teeth she fired three shots into the monster, one in the chest, the other in the stomach, and the last in the head. Like her other shots, the warrioress's bullets looked like thumb tacks sticking out of the man's skin, with the last ricocheting of the mask with a spark.

The monster gave a distorted metallic laugh and advanced on Sarah who began to back away.

"This is what I've been waiting nineteen years for this moment." He said taking slow steps toward her. "For nineteen long years I've waited to take you in my arms and now with the _Detective _dead there's no stopping me from making you mine again." The monster sounded gratified and excited.

The nickname Detective sounded familiar too, yet once again she couldn't place it, but that might have been because there was three months missing in her memory around the time the monster was referring to.

Crossing into her personal boundary she threw a hard punch into his thick chest and an elbow into his face. The muscles felt hard on her knuckle and the man's mask almost shattered her elbow. She sucked in air and cradled her hand as she backed away.

Derek watched as Sarah loomed closer and closer to the wall while behind him, Cameron was hanging on to the ledge while the red mask began to advance on him. He desperately looked around for some way to get Sarah out of the situation. But by the luck of fate Derek felt the damaged bridge begin to buckle under the weight of everyone.

Acting quickly, the junior officer charged the chrome faced man and rolled on his side cutting the feet out from under him, causing the man's fall backwards, and the concrete structure to be put on critical.

"Cameron, punch the bridge, now!" he yelled at her as the red mask began to sprint toward them and the beast began to rise again.

Snapping back a fist, Cameron pummeled the walkway. A tremor shook the bridge and then like it was happening in slow motion the entire structure collapsed under their feet. And everyone fell into the abyss below.

* * *

With a loud splash the sound of concrete rubble and bodies hit the smelly water.

Sarah bobbed her head to the surface and gasped at the very cold water. She kicked, fighting the automated current pushing everything down stream.

"Derek!" she called over the roar of the water. Losing some of her concentration, she dipped underwater for several beats before rising again. "Derek!" she yelled searching around her.

Finally the polished glint of his jacket clasp caught Sarah's attention. She was relieved and horrified, watching as an unresponding Derek floated on his back, being carried by the current out of sight.

"_Oh, no Derek!" _

Turning into the rushing water, the soaked woman swam as fast as she could after the man. Desperation was in every stroke, anger at him for being a jackass disappeared, hatred for playing with her heartstrings for a kiss, never seemed to happen. All she knew was that he was her family and that she loved him. Most importantly, she couldn't lose another Reese, not another one of her Reese's.

Panting, Sarah reached out for him; she could almost touch him, her hands strafing his matted cropped hair, a nasty welt on his head told her that he had been hit by rubble. She panicked seeing his eyes were closed, she silently prayed that it was nothing serious.

Ahead of them the river was forking into two different directions. The tunnel to the left had sunlight bleeding through, a tell-tale sign of escape. The tunnel to the right was bathed in darkness being lit with flickering lights.

From behind Sarah a large hand caught her by the back of her jeans and nearly pulled her under. She spat and gasped fighting the monster from earlier as he tugged her toward him. His arms were like a big net she was desperately trying to swim away from. His violent tugs were taking her, and Derek off course, pulling them into the dark labyrinth of the unknown waterways.

Spotting a dangling chain link used for workers who were in their same position, she snatched the chain. Now with a good hold on Derek, she held on tight as the chrome-masked man's tugging pulled them down toward the pitch black corridor. Sarah's grip was soon the only thing keeping them from being washed into the unknown.

Screaming and grunting, she feverishly kicked at the bulging man; her boots making contact with the man's face and neck. She panted fearfully as her grip started to slip off the chain. Slowly she slid down the emergency line.

Then, from below them, a slim, petite hand grabbed the hand ripping at Sarah's jacket and jeans and twisted it off her. Suddenly, Cameron appeared for a moment as she jumped up from her standing position on the sewer bottom. She wrestled the monster under as both were washed down the black corridor.

"Cameron!" Sarah's voice echoed.

"_Keep moving!" _

Biting her lip, Sarah positioned Derek against her shoulder and half swam, half pulled on the chain trying to get back to the light. She pushed herself harder than she had ever pushed herself before. Once she was in the middle she floated herself to the left letting the current take her, once she was safely on the other side she took a deep breath.

"Hold on, Reese!" she yelled over to the unconscious man, moving his head into the crook of her neck and holding onto him tightly. She let go of the chain and let the current float them out.

After several moments she was nearly blinded by the sunlight as they reached the end of the road that lead into a water slide like pipe. Moving through the plastic chute, she was reminded of bobsledders as she and Derek shot through the slick pipe quickly and with a small jump they landed into a sunny reservoir in the middle of the city.

Out of breath Sarah swam to the soil and dragged Derek to shore. She collapsed next to him and placed her ear next to his mouth.

"_He's not breathing." _

"Common, Reese!" she grunted blowing air through his mouth and pushing on him. "Common …" she chanted desperately as she fought to pump the water out over and over again.

"Derek … I can't do this on my own … I don't know how to anymore. You've spoiled me! Please, John needs you … I need you. We need you to get on your feet soldier. On your feet!" she yelled giving several hard pushes. Then like an answered prayer, Derek started to cough, she turned him over on his left side as he spat out water. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned him on his back.

"Sarah?" he called groggily.

"Yeah …" she sniffled joyfully placing a hand on his chest.

"I'm still tied up." He grunted.

Sarah laughed at the completely mundane and ant-climatic Derek Reese response to the situation. Laughing hard she buried her face his chest. Derek laughed at her laughing for several minutes as they lay on the reservoir shore collecting themselves.

"No, but seriously … I'm still tied up."

* * *

John came through the front door with new bruises and scrapes to join his collection. He gave very little attention to what he was doing as he counted the hundred dollar bills he had just won.

"John?" his mother's voice called from the living room.

He closed his eyes in shame and knew that he would have to face the woman he loved more than anything, and his hurtful comments he had been beating himself up over all took in a deep breath and then frowned at the raw odor that he nearly missed do to a swollen nose.

"Mom, what's that …" John paused when he saw Sarah wrapped only in a beach towel huddled next to Derek with a towel around his waist. Sarah had her hair wrapped in a warm towel and Derek had a hot water pad on his head. Both had three thermal blankets wrapped around them and their feet soaked in a bucket of warm water.

"Did I miss something?" He asked looking at both of his parental figures.

"Did we miss anything?" Derek glared at all of the teen's injuries. Sarah stood straight up when she spotted them.

"John Connor, what happened to you!?" she stormed toward him for several steps, then rushed back to the warmth of the blankets and Derek. "John Connor … what happened to you?" she shivered out.

"I was prize fighting …" He said distractedly, looking around the room.

"Prize fighting?" Sarah's teeth chattered angrily.

"Yeah … you know you fight for money?" John said, not concentrating on the conversation as he looked up the stairs.

"I know what prize fighting is … but why?" Sarah said outraged.

"I needed to blow off some steam." John replied walking into the kitchen.

"Hey where is Cameron?" he asked them.

Both Derek and Sarah exchanged looks before turning to John.

"Mom … where is she?"

* * *

"_John Connor, put that shotgun down, because you are not going out there after her …!" _

"_Why don't you come over here and stop me!" _

"_That's low, kid" _

"…"

"_Damn it, John! Get back in this house!"_

The inside of Cameron's room was a deep orange as the sun began to set on the day. The echo of a jeep blasting out of the Connor's driveway covered the sound of the room's window opening.

The petite shadow skillfully climbed through and set her feet down quietly and walked gracefully over the floorboards. A black leather-gloved hand touched the silky purple evening gown hanging in front of Cameron's wardrobe like someone who hadn't seen the items in a long time. Kneeling, the red helmeted woman picked up a pair of pink ballet slippers. One by one the figure removed the gloves revealing a pair of smooth perfect feminine hands. She touched the slippers gingerly, feeling the fabric of them as if they were old friends.

Slowly and almost reluctantly the sleek woman placed the slippers back and thumped lightly toward a man who slept alone in the bed. Ryan was undisturbed as the Red Mask loomed over him. He twitched his eye at the presence and shifted. Seeing the man's small discomfort the woman reached up and removed the helmet and placed it on the night stand.

The girl's face was obscured by shadows. She looked youthful and beautiful, with dark hair in a bun. She unzipped her motorcycle jacket to reveal a white tank top. With a creak the woman sat on the edge of the bed and watched the man sleep. She slowly smoothed the soldier's raven waves out of his eyes.

Making small sounds of discomfort from a dream, Ryan turned his head from side to side. The girl took his hand and placed it on her cheek to which he was immediately soothed.

"It shouldn't have to be like this …" the girl said to him as he slept "Why can't you kill her?" the girl pressed his hand to her cheek harder.

The man answered her subconsciously.

"_I'm no executioner." _

* * *

The fading day glimmered off the sea's surface like purple and orange water colors. The sun sank peacefully over the mountains, taking the heat with it, giving the Pacific Ocean air a cold bite.

In the dark parking lot a blue jeep hurriedly pulled into a spot near a lonely fishing pier overlooking the shimmering painted water. The door opened and a leather jacketed individual stepped out of the car and he held open the blueprint of the city sewer system.

John chanted gibberish as he followed a right fork in the cross section.

"Here!" he exclaimed, storing the map back inside the car and replacing it with a dented tactical shotgun which he had borrowed from the wounded soldier at his house.

With a rack of the shotgun, he closed the door and moved toward the edge of a cliff. Below was a beach, with no path connecting the two. John sighed; using the strap on the gun, he slung it behind his back and began climbing down the rock wall. After several moments his boots hit cold sand with a puff. He walked in a cautious, yet hurried pace down the waterfront with the shotgun in a ready position, scanning the darkening beach for the girl he was looking for.

"Cameron!" he called loudly, but all that answered was his echo. He continued forward toward the pier. "Cam!" he yelled, once again he received nothing.

He spotted a long pipe underneath the pier that gushed water into a small river flowing into the ocean. He moved toward it, entering the labyrinth of wooden support beams and muddy sand.

"John …" a voice called to him.

"Cameron!" he rushed forward through the thick muck until he found the silhouette of a girl sitting with her back to a support beam. He lowered the shotgun and kneeled next to his protector.

Cameron was soaking wet and her skin was deathly pale. Her white tank top had been washed off as well as her socks and boots, and grime stained her pink and blue polka dotted smooth bra. John placed the shotgun on the muck and touched her frozen cheek.

"God, you're cold." He grunted removing his jacket and draping it over her mostly bare shoulders.

She turned to him curiously as he sat next to her and pulled her into an embrace rubbing her warmly.

"What?" he scoffed slightly at her. Cameron tilted her head.

"I swallowed a fish." She replied in an innocent monotone. John stared at her for a moment before he laughed sympathetically at her with a softened look. Cameron smiled and leaned her head into him.

In that moment they put aside their differences, no pressure from the future, no hurt or confusion about what to do with their feelings which clashed with the duties of destiny. For several minutes they were just John and Cameron, friends, companions, and soul mates.

"You are John Connor?"

A beastly mechanical voice spoke to the couple from the shadows in front of them. John grabbed the shotgun and stood as did Cameron.

With monstrous thumps a chrome mask appeared in his line of sight. John could see the outline of a large gorilla-like, muscle man physique.

"Yeah … that's me." John hardened his voice and added a little bit of an intimidating gruff. Cameron squeezed his arm reproachfully for his admission to the stranger, but John heard his mother's description of the man who had tried to kidnap her and it was a good bet that he knew who he was already.

"How strange that a man, who challenged a god, could have such a humble and scrawny beginning … there's no killer in those eyes." the mask observed.

"I wouldn't put any money on that bet." John sneered challengingly lifting the shotgun. The man laughed at the action.

"You have courage … good; you're going to need it."

"Who are you?" Cameron added standing shoulder to shoulder with John, ready to pounce at any minute.

The large man swelled his chest and growled.

"You'll never know my name, but your _Mother _will learn it, I'll make her scream it!" There was determined rage in the monster's voice.

"If you're threatening my family, you better have taken a number, because there aren't any cuts in that line." John replied holding the weapon a little higher. The mask slowly backed into the dark shadows of the looming dusk.

"She'll be mine, again … forever." Then there was silence as the figure disappeared into the new night.

John was on edge as he pointed the shotgun into the shadows. Cameron blinked and turned to John, placing a hand on his arm. He let out a deep calming breath and lowered the gun.

After a moment he wrapped an arm around Cameron's waist and ushered her out from under the pier.

There was an uncertainty and worry on his mind.

"Let's get out here."


	9. Running Against the Wind

**So hey! **

**Didn't really like this chapter and I'm not sure how you guys will like it, but here we go.**

**Enjoy it (hopefully) ;)**

**Running Against the Wind **

Hazy brown eyes flickered open for the first time in two weeks to a dimly lit bedroom that was empty with the door closed. The owner of the mocha orbs lay silently in the bed staring up at the glow of plastic stars pasted on the ceiling; giving the room the illusion of a night sky. Watching the child like decorations pensively, the man blinked away the haze that blurred his vision.

Slowly and with a grunt he sat up cradling his cauterized wound under a white T-shirt and looked around the room. It was painted purple and there was a desk near the door. To his side sat a wardrobe with a purple evening gown hanging from the handles. He looked down to find a feminine floral design on the bed spread on top of him.

He blinked and looked out the window on his other side and saw a spectacular view of familiar hills shrouded in the purple twilight of the awakening day.

With a slight sigh he got out from under the covers and walked to the desk to find three pairs of new jeans and his black cargo pants he didn't remember taking off. Grabbing them from the pile he pulled the pants on and strung them with his old belt sitting on top of his now folded tattered trench coat. Padding across the floor in his apparently new socks, he pulled on his old motorcycle boots that sat under the desk next to pink ballet slippers.

With the clasps buckled the soldier walked to the door and opened it to reveal a long dark hallway with wooden floors and white walls. He frowned in confusion at where exactly he was. Continuing forward, he passed two closed doors that he didn't feel like he wanted to open.

However as he reached the start of some stairs that led down ward he noticed a door left open, cautiously he peaked inside.

Near the door in the windowless master bedroom sat a king-sized bed and inside the man saw a woman asleep peacefully under the covers on her side. She looked innocent, almost angelic as he tracked her familiar breathing patterns. The officer wanted to walk away, but there was just something about the content look on her beautiful face that made him glad that she was resting.

Ryan Connor leaned against the door frame and remembered many years ago watching Sarah Connor sleep like this. He shook his head, because he knew that it wasn't her, it was a clone. But even then it didn't stop the memories of him sitting on burnt over grass plains watching her sleep, wondering if that night would be the night he would kill her, put a bullet in her brain and end Skynet's plot. But he never did it, he always gave a deep breath and pushed it to the back of his brain while he lay next to her and stare up at the stars.

He told himself he would learn from his mistake. That given the opportunity to be put in the same situation he wouldn't hesitate to kill Sarah.

"_This is different … this isn't a clone." _

Ryan fought the Colonel Cameron Connor in him that was telling him that once again the future would be safe if he would simply kill Sarah Connor and burn her body.

But in the end he just couldn't kill her. He wasn't his mother, he wasn't a machine. He instead chose the almost Herculean task of protecting her for however long it took. Sarah was his blood, his family, and more importantly, he loved her just as much as his parents.

"_Some day your love for her will lead you to your death."_

Ryan rubbed his stubble with a troubled face, his mother's words echoing into his very soul, it was a statement that has haunted him for the last six years of his life. He would find himself standing in front of Sarah's glass case memorial in his father's old office that was turned into Ryan's quarters after his father's death. He pondered his mother's words and what they had meant, was it a warning or a prediction that he couldn't escape?

With a sad sigh he gave Sarah one last look, and with a silent click he shut the door.

With small thuds he walked down the stairs to the living room that he did recognize from his talk with Derek a month ago.

"Ca … Cameron." A familiar voice called out from the couch. With a lifted eyebrow the officer walked over to find a collection of beer bottles in front of a passed out teenage boy with a deep five o'clock shadow that he seemed too young for.

"Right exactly where I left you in the future, working hard on a Miller Time shift." Ryan sighed bitterly and folded his arms observing a passed out John Connor.

The man knew there where several things about his father that will never change, He will always eventually beat Skynet, There will never be a better fighter in the world, Sarah Connor is and always will be his only god, and his favorite hobby is pining away for his wife (or future wife) in a bottle of alcohol.

Then just like every time in the future that John drowned his sorrows over his angel in a bottle, Ryan cleaned up the mess.

With an arm full of beer bottles he walked into the kitchen and dumped them in a recycling bin. After a silent moment he scoffed at the psycho babble of an argument between his parents.

"_John, I recall clearly stating that if you came home inebriated that you will give me no choice but to terminate you." _

"_Yeah well I guess after all these years you're still lying to me, Angel, because I'm drunk as hell and I still haven't shook hands with George Washington, yet." _

Ryan shook his head with a small smile and looked out at the now orange sky.

In the early morning hours there was stillness to the kitchen that the soldier couldn't quite explain. The windows and room had a purple tint from the morning that gave it a serene quality to the large cozy home.

It was a serial moment for Ryan, he wasn't sure why, but there was just something about the stillness of the early morning that seemed to enchant him.

Opening the kitchen door, he walked out onto the balcony letting the door slam a little as he looked out on the twinkling lights of the L.A. skyline and the beginning of the early morning traffic. The breeze that blew past the soldier was nice and cool and the elevated height brought on a feeling that he couldn't shake.

An almost sense of freedom that came from the skyline and the breeze in his hair and face brought on a strong memory.

When Ryan closed his eyes it was like he was there again.

* * *

_A little boy opened his eyes and laughed giddily as he ran and jumped from room top to room top near Echo Park. _

_The ten year old boy seldom felt more freedom than he did right now. The wind was in his hair and in his face, he was above ground for once and when he swung from tall building to tall building on hanging power lines long drained of there electricity it felt like he was flying. _

_The boys baggy blue hooded jacket flowed behind him like a cape as he swung over a two story building, letting go of the power line he landed on his hands at the end of a ruined thrift store and push off, doing a flip mid air and landed on his feet on the base of the roof. _

_He grinned and ran up to the edge and struck a heroic posse looking out at the rubble as if he owned the entire park. _

_He knew that when he got home that his Mom and Dad would kill him for what he was doing, and he knew that the HK's would probably get him to if he wasn't careful, but what was life with out a little fun? _

"_Not everyone can be mom." The boy scoffed at an angelic girl's voice in his head. _

_He looked around at the area seeing the ashy rubble with the occasional burnt skull. He shrugged and was about to move on when he heard a scream echo through the street. He looked around and saw nothing. After another moment he heard it again this time he pinpointed it toward the block behind him._

_There was a moment when maturity sets in for some and when there was danger the smart thing to do was to go the other way and in the post apocalyptic world it would have been the right thing to do. But as the shaggy haired boy pointed out, he wasn't his mom. _

_Curiosities taking hold, the boy climbed up a power line and with a grunt swung himself back and forth until he could drop on the higher roof of a former two story high fashion dress store that had made history years ago, but now served as a lookout for a stupidly brave little boy. _

_Looking out over the mess of rebar and skulls that covered cracked asphalt the boy saw a shadow figure of a pretty little blond haired girl in pig tails screaming and sobbing as she ran from a large endoskeleton with ridiculously fake rubber skin that was hulking after her._

"_Hero time" _

_With a running jump, the boy caught another hanging power line and swung across street to another two story building and jumped down, landing with a skid the boy began leaping over close together roof tops matching the girl's course. _

_Soon she slid to a halt when a decayed city bus and a tumbled over building blocked her path. She turned and began to cry out of fear. _

"_Momma!" she screamed hiding her face with her hands and sobbed as the indifferent red eyed rubber skinned killer came closer and closer. _

_Quickly reaching into his pocket the boy took out a row of fire crackers and lit them with his emergency match taped to the red cylinders. The boy flung them in some rubble behind the T-600. _

_The sound of gunfire like crackling immediately turned the rubber skin's head and it marched toward the noise. _

_With faze one complete he went to the finale faze that he knew he probably should have planned out more. With the wind and a prayer the boy jumped off the building clutching a street banner that went from one building across to the next above him._

_Swinging downward the boy snatched up the little girl while the 600's back was turned and together the children flew through an open window on the second floor of an old book store. With a loud thud the little boy and girl slid and rolled on the ashy wooden floor of the dark upstairs._

_Crawling to the sill, the boy peeked down to find the rubber skin wondering around aimlessly looking for its young victim that seemed to have disappeared into thin air. The little girl clung to the older boy as they ducked under. _

_Both sat for several moments as the dirty little girl pressed her face into the boy's shirt which he grimaced and tried to pry her off, because to the still young boy, girls were gross. _

_After the sound of heavy mechanical footsteps disappeared to another block he stood up and finally pushed the girl from him. With a chastising glare he brushed himself off and straightened his too big jacket. The little girl's blue eyes were big and puppy like which made him glare even more. _

"_Riley …Riley, baby where are you?" _

_A voice called out on the street. Both looked down to see an attractive blond woman wondering the collapsed street. _

"_It's my aunt!" the little girl exclaimed and rushed out of the dark room. The boy stood alone and rode the wave of exhilaration that came from his daring rescue. _

"_Alice and Sydney are going to be so jealous when I tell'em about this." He thought. _

_Just then the little girl ran back up the stairs and planted a kiss on the boy's cheek. With a startled look he watched the little girl giggle shyly and run back out._

_There was a pause for a moment before a stupid pirate grin came over the boys face._

* * *

A stupid nostalgic grin was planted on Ryan's face as he looked out of the city, his arms resting on the railing and foot on the lowest bar.

The sound of the kitchen door opened with a gentle creek and a female figure stood with a cup of steaming coffee in her hand, watching him.

"Good Morning …"

"It's a possibility." Ryan smirked and turned to address Cameron who wore denim mini shorts and an overly large black button down that quite possibly belonged to John. Cameron tilted her head at the comment and walked toward him. She held out the cup of coffee to him. He smiled roughly and took it.

"Thanks" he replied and without thinking gave the girl a small peck on the temple.

Rolling with the automatic slip up he turned away from her, back to the city trying to be as smooth as possible. Cameron touched her temple inquisitively then smiled softly, taking the spot next to him as he hunched over the railing, sipping the coffee.

Both were silent for several minutes looking out at the city, trying to find a place to start. Cameron tiled her head and looked at him pensively.

"Just ask." He chuckled not looking at her. She stared a moment before she spoke.

"Are you General Order 66?" Cameron tiled her head.

"Well, my friends call me Ryan." He laughed at the question and turned to the girl who frowned at the comment. "Yes … that was part of how I was conceived." He nodded.

"Then …?" She questioned gingerly touching her lower stomach.

"Yep …" he grunted in conformation as he drank the coffee.

The girl frowned again and looked out over the sunrise. She could tell herself that it wasn't possible for her and John's relationship or feelings to cross such a line that she would ever give him a child. But then she would be lying, because in the end she would do anything for John, even willingly use Skynet's emergency general order just to please him.

"We should tell John." She deadpanned.

Without warning, coffee shot from Ryan's nose over the edge of the balcony.

"Wait, what!" he shouted at her. She looked blankly at his reaction but placed a hand on his back. "Are you nut's, the kid's passed out drunk on the couch at sixteen, How do you think he's going to react to having a baby with a cyborg?" he pinched his nose from the burning of the coffee.

"Maybe later?" She offered.

"Maybe never." He replied.

"You told me." She inquired with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, because you already figured it out."

"Would you have told me?"

"No, I wouldn't have told you."

The girl glared at Ryan and turned away as if he had just insulted her. Rubbing his nose he looked back at her and the stoic glare he knew all to well.

"I don't want to lie to John." She stated passively.

"Oh please …" he shot; Cameron turned her head to him with interest. "You lie to him all the time." he snorted.

"No I don't." Cameron took an innocent tone. Ryan lifted a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Yeah, you and your spare terminator parts in the shed are just a freakin monument to honesty." He flicked an unamused face at her with a tilt of his head, to which she matched as the two touched shoulders.

"I don't want to lie to John about this." She spoke solemnly. Ryan shook his head at her.

"You do that and you might risk my entire existence …" he cautioned seriously with a bump of his shoulder. Cameron's face lightened as she bore into a face that closely resembled hers.

"John will understand …" She nodded. Ryan chuckled bitterly and sighed, looking away.

"Yeah, because when I think of the old man, "Understanding" is the word I associate with him." He snorted.

The girl relented with a nod at the logic set before her. The John she knows in this time ran from problems and things he couldn't understand. Most of the time it was to Riley, but other times he would just disappear and not return until sunrise which worried both her and Sarah.

Cameron turned to the man. "Why are you here?" she asked with interest.

Ryan cleared his throat at the question and looked off pondering how best to answer.

"Classified" he grunted, worried how his future mother would react to the story he already told Derek. Cameron stared hard at the young man next to her, not buying the soldier's explanation.

"You can tell me." She smiled charmingly. He grinned and shook his head at her, genetically immune to the angelic beauty's lovely smile.

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

A door opened to a shadowed basement in a mansion and the silhouette of a woman walked down the steps with a casualness that was quiet different than most people would have venturing into the dank and decayed smelling subterranean room.

Serena yawned when she reached the foot of the stairs and tied a silk robe over a lacy black teddy. She looked at the figure of a large man sitting at a desk top computer typing furiously, lifting an eyebrow she continued forward.

"How was your night, sweetheart?" she yawned, stretching out before going over to the desk. He ignored her as he continued his work.

Giving him a sly smile the doctor waltzed up and hugged his head to her chest looking at the computer screen.

What's this?" she asked reading a large mathematical formula being tweaked and modified by the man whose muscle mass seemed to have shrunk in size.

"Eden formula" he replied with a horse growl of weakened anger. Serena looked at the man and ran a hand over the velvet like muscles of his arms, no longer feeling like iron but tender meat.

"Baby … when was the last time you took your "Medicine"?" she asked the man worriedly, seeing greenish black goop stains at the bottom of his mask.

"I'll take it when I'm done." He said weakly. The woman glared and walked to a medical bag and dug through it.

"I told you … when I'm done!" he yelled in raged, coughing between words. The doctor ignored him and extracted a green vile.

"I'll have none of your tantrum." She said with authority walking back to him. He responded in a way that a spoiled child would to a strict parent, going silent and still. Connecting it to a gun like syringe she jabbed it into his arm and squeezed the trigger emptying the vile into the man's arm.

He groaned in pleasure and satisfaction as the anger blew away clearing his mind like a satin cloth wiping away his troubles. Serena bit her lip at the arousal she felt at the strangled grown he let out as his muscles erected under her hand.

There was a pause in the room as purple eyes made contact with chocolate brown.

"I need the "treatments" more and more, my body is becoming dependent on Eden." He spoke with a surprisingly even tone. Serena trailed her hand over his shoulder, sitting herself on his lap.

"Is this why you're doing this?" she asked trailing her hands over his bare chest muscles. "You're looking for a permanent solution?" the doctor looked up.

"No … my father's formula is unsustainable but if I build a device that will constantly feed me what I need, then there will be nothing limiting me." He spoke softly at first, but slowly he became more aggressive in his tone letting the drug accelerate his mind and adrenaline.

"Well that's good because I have a job for you …" she smiled slyly. The man however scoffed and pushed the woman off him and rolled his chair back to the desk and started to type again.

"I'm not your errand boy." He replied in a disgusted voice.

Serena glared at his insolence for a moment before she cleared her throat.

"It was at your father's request." She twitched an amused lip. The monster turned in his seat and looked to the curly haired woman's sallow eyes.

"You've spoken to my father?" he asked hopefully. Serena gave a sigh and walked around him playfully.

"Of course darling … where do you think I go and do all day?" she leaned down and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"Why haven't I seen him, why haven't I been summoned?" He questioned harshly, the uncontrollable anger taking hold again.

The woman smiled knowingly and placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder and shushed him.

"In due time darling … in due time." she whispered in his ear calming him. The man turned his head.

"What is it that is asked of me?" there was a determined conviction in his growled voice.

"Have you heard of Zirea Corp.?"

* * *

Sarah came down the stairs in soft black long sleeve shirt, jeans and her boots. Her hair was damp from the shower and since she had striped out her night clothes in her bathroom she had been hearing a strange growling sound from outside.

Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she spotted the living room empty and silent except for that strained growling from outside. She walked to the front porch which was the source of the human sound.

When she opened the door she found the man that she expected to be in Cameron's bed asleep like he had been for the last two weeks bare foot in a plain white Tee and black cargo pants throwing a trained punch in the air followed by a karate chop which was growled out.

For some reason Sarah smiled inquisitively and leaned against the doorframe watching the man practice martial arts on her front porch. After sensing another presence he turned back and looked at Sarah

"Morning" he nodded and went back to what he was doing. She looked down at her feet a moment.

"Morning" she replied and looked up to see all the family vehicles gone except a black street racing motorcycle that Cameron had brought home several days ago claiming it was the soldier's.

"Where is everyone?" she asked as the man let out a swift kick that made a whipping sound through the air.

"Reese took of with Da … John an hour ago and Mo … Cameron left, something about buying important books she needed to read." He answered getting in an offensive fighting stance.

Sarah's face fell a little. This was becoming a common occurrence for her; she would wake up and shower only to find herself alone in the house. She always liked solitude, away from society, away from the pressures that destiny provided. But her idea of seclusion included John being with her. Her idea of fond isolation was her boy sitting next to her, talking about bullshit or the universe, the stars and what's out there, and other things that best friends eventually talk about.

But alone with only her thoughts in a large expensive looking house didn't make her happy, It made her think of another former beautiful debutant who sat alone in her home day after day like a prisoner waiting for a man who wouldn't return to her. Eventually the isolation twisted her till she looked for comfort in her teenage daughter's likeness to her love in the worst way possible.

Fear engulfed her at the almost similar situations of Rachel Connor, her mother compared to her own. Sarah shuddered at the thought of John being just a tad bit older than her when "it" all began. She couldn't handle even thinking about John going through what she had at his age.

"HAH!"

Sarah's dark musings where interrupted by a three technique demonstration by the man who cut the air like butter, snapping off a punch, than an elbow strike, ending with a swift kick.

"What is that?" she asked trying to desperately move away from her memories.

"_Jujitsu!" _he exclaimed with a grunt and a leaping kick as he landed on the warm tile.

"Bless you." She grinned at her small joke that earned an irritated but amused smile.

"Sure laugh, but this takes years to master." He scoffed in a challenging tone getting into a fighting stance again.

"I don't see the point?" Sarah shrugged. The man stopped and turned with a lifted eyebrow. "I mean in the future … without a weapon, if a machine wants me dead, I'm dead." She shook her head.

The man scoffed at her and folded his arms.

"That's Bullshit." He chuckled at her. Sarah stiffened at his response in surprise. "The only people who believe that are the ones that think they have nothing to lose." He explained going back to his practice.

"There is always something to lose." She frowned with her automated mantra to the phrase.

"My thoughts … _exactly_!" he jabbed the air swiftly. "Plus … there are points on Endo's bodies that can be exploited." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at her. She smiled a little at his charming ease.

There was a mechanical buzzing that caught her ear. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, he flipped it open quickly.

"Yeah" he answered seriously. There was a pause from him as if he was listening to something that was important. "Run a sector scan of the area … map it out for anything worth taking or shipping." He ordered through the phone and hung up.

Sarah watched him press the phone against his chin.

"Something wrong?" she asked. The man snorted thoughtfully.

"There might be." He glanced toward her with a sigh.

Both looked at one another seriously for a moment, each trying to read the others thoughts and fears.

"You wanna come check it out?" he gave a pirate smile motioning to his motorcycle. Sarah bit her lip a moment.

"Don't take rides from strangers. "She tilted her head at him with a smug grin. The man shook his head and walked toward her, sticking his hand out.

"Captain Ryan Phillips" he introduced himself to her. Sarah gave a suspicious squint to the hand.

"Sarah Connor" she shook the hand gingerly.

There was an ease to the touch that she couldn't explain. She only ever felt that way when with John. Ryan grinned at her.

"I guess that doesn't make us strangers anymore."

* * *

Inside a clean room in the basement of the large Zirea Corp. Tower building in downtown L.A. a young female in her early twenties with innocent blue eyes and honey blond hair sat in a chair with a chord attached to the back of her head. She wore a flowing white dress on her slim figure. Her attractive girl next door looks where expressionless as she gently ran a brush through a Barbie dolls hair.

"Why do you wear a helmet?" the girl asked looking up at the leather clad female across from her who was also combing a Barbie's hair.

"_**I do no wish for anyone to know my Identity." **_The Red Mask answered simply.

The girl looked intrigued and studied the female across from her.

"Why?" she asked innocently like a small child. The other girl continued brushing the Barbie's hair.

"_**If people knew who I was, it could cause complications." **_

There was a pause in the conversation as the blond processed the information.

"Are you from the future like this body?" the girl pointed to herself. The Red Mask tilted her head.

"_**Yes" **_

"Are you here to hurt someone?" she pressed innocently. The Red Mask said nothing as she continued her work. "This body was designed to hurt someone." She offered but was still ignored. "It appeared three months ago in Laurence Kansas. It killed a mechanic shop owner and stole his clothing. It then drove to the home of Thomas Reese where it looked to acquire Kyle Reese his grandson. However it was ambushed by you and was brought here." She told her tale systematically.

"_**I remember …" **_the helmeted girl replied.

The sound of a door opening cut the conversation short and an Ice queen like woman with deep red hair sleeked back in a pony tail and a white almost plastic form fitting dress walked into the room.

She stopped at the doorway and looked on at the Red Mask with a pause of surprise and a buried sense of alarm.

"Good morning Mrs. Weaver, How are you today?" the blond asked with a child like politeness. The frigid women regard the girl with a smile.

"I'm fine, thank you Isabella." She then flicked her eyes to the Red Mask. Seeing the action the girl spoke up.

"Have you met my new friend?" she asked smiling at the leather clad female across from her. Weaver turned and had an amused look for her.

"Intimently …" she said stoically. The Red Mask placed the doll down and stood, turning to face the woman.

"_**Good morning Katherine." **_the mechanical voice said stoically. There was a tense silence in the room as the two stood to full height.

Both had an almost night and day comparison. Catherine Weaver had a sterile, futuristic look to her; while the Red Mask's tight black leather pants and motorcycle jacket looked gritty and sinister in nature.

"May I have a word with you outside?" Weaver asked pleasantly. The red helmeted woman nodded and walked out of the room leaving Isabella to herself as she closed the door.

"_**That look was almost priceless … scared?" **_The girl asked with a slight turn of her head.

"After all that you have done … I believe I have a right to be slightly cautious about you skulking around in my basement." There was a slight danger in the woman's emotionless Scottish brogue.

They stood in silence a moment before the Red Mask spoke again.

"_**I see that you chose the same route as last time in developing the Turk. Of course there is a different machine as its puppet." **_She pointed out.

"Yes … I figured that Mr. Ellison would be much more inclining in this timeline if I used a female body that he is not familiar with. I find that he would most respond to a pretty young woman as opposed to the face of a man who massacred his men." she nodded in agreement.

"_**Who said that history wouldn't repeat itself?" **_the sleek girl asked with a tilt of her head. The frigid woman smiled a sly knowing smile.

"Ryan has reassured me that it wouldn't." Catherine replied looking at the tinted slits of the helmet as if she could sense the conflict on the youth's face.

"_**He shouldn't make promises he can't keep." **_

"He has claimed that with Sarah Connor alive that there will be no need for her and her family to come after my company." The woman explained. "How can your boy be one of the best Detectives I've ever seen, yet live in a fantasy world?" she questioned the Red Mask amusingly.

"_**He's too much like Sarah for his own good." **_She replied. _**"He's never learned to do what's necessary and he supports this fantasy by thinking that protecting Sarah will make everything better." **_

"He's not wrong, if he were to terminate Dr. Serena Kogen, then all that Skynet has planned for Sarah Connor would die with her." Weaver offered as if making a suggestion to be followed.

"_**It's not out of the cards, but that doesn't mean that Sarah isn't still a threat to John." **_

There was a thoughtful pause in the conversation.

"_**There's only one way to ensure his safety and that's to kill Sarah, even if I have to go through Ryan to do it."**_

"Mrs. Weaver!" Isabella's voice called calmly from the closed door. Catherine turned and opened the door and walked in.

"Yes, Isabella?" she answered.

"I was taking inventory on Zirea Corps. Shipment schedules when I came across a distress signal from one of you ships coming from Africa." She explained continuing to comb her Barbie's hair.

"Yes?" Catherine pushed.

"Apparently someone is trying to steal the Coltan on it." 

* * *

The Afternoon sun was high in the middle of the sky, warming a mostly breeze day that flickered flags and metal shingles of warn out warehouses by the docks. The smell of sea water lingered strongly in the mostly abandoned area where drug attics and homeless spend there days.

On the roof of a abandoned warehouse two people crouched on a aluminum roof looking down at a three men in grey uniforms loading boxes on fork lift trucks and by hand off the ship.

"Hey I know those guys …"

Ryan smiled cheekily as he observed the dock with a pair of binoculars. Sarah was stoic as she observed the offloading process.

"That's Coltan …" she said reading the black lettering on the boxes. She turned her gaze to the semi truck they where loading it on and read Desert Canyon Heating and Air, while the company name on the ship said Zirea Corp. "Are they working in tandem?" she asked herself out loud.

"The body floating in the water says probably not." Ryan Commented off handily. Sarah widened her eyes in exclamation and turned to the ship, but saw nothing.

"Well this should be easy …" he sighed, handing Sarah his binoculars. She watched him puzzled as he followed a stack of shipment containers to a hanging dock crane near the men as they off loaded.

"What the hell are you doing!" she hissed as he stretched a moment. Ryan smiled arrogantly.

"Following a pattern of obsessive behavior instilled in me at an early age." he answered matter- a-factly popping the collar up to his ripped up overcoat. "When I take out the crew down there you take the truck and back it into the ocean." Ryan laid out a plan quickly walking to the edge of the building ready to jump off the edge on the orange storage containers bellow.

"Wait!" Sarah caught his hand and pulled him back. "We should at least call for backup." She commanded with authority.

"Yeah, because they're just going to hangout till we can get people here." He scoffed and moved back toward the edge. Sarah glared and pulled him back again.

"We need to follow them to see who they work for." She gritted at him.

"We do that and there won't be anyway of getting rid of the Coltan." He argued ripping her hand off his. "We wait, that metal will end up in someone's hands, which will put it in distribution somewhere." He said hotly walking toward the end of the pier.

"We're under armed to do this!" she addressed him angrily not liking her orders disobeyed and her suggestions ignored.

"If you'll excuse me." He shot at her jumping off the ledge.

"Jackass" she growled standing up and rushing to the latter leading downward.

Ryan landed with small thud on the metallic container on the top of the stack. He crouched and looked down at the two men working on loading the heavy metal bars on the semi, he recognized both men. The longhaired bearded one in the trucker hat and the buzzard faced man that he had a particular dislike for, because of the sick twisted look in his eyes that told of a type of man that only Skynet could hire.

With a flicker to the sky he saw a forest of hanging chains above them in his reach. Both men took a break for a moment the long haired one moving to the front of the truck to retrieve a bottle of water from the driver's seat.

Just as the breezed blew into his hair he got a child like shot of adrenaline that ran ramped through his system.

"Hero time"

With a fluid motion Ryan sprinted and with a jump he caught a dangling chain and swung across the gap between him and the trucker cap covered man.

George McCarthy was caught unawares when Ryan delivered a gliding kick to the man's chest and face sending him backwards, causing the truck door to close with a loud slam. Landing on his feet, Ryan turned to see Ed Winston rush around the corner to see what happened.

Seeing the other hired killer, the Tech-Com officer took a running start at the buzzard faced man. He tried to reach for a pistol but a flying motorcycle boot reached the man's pressure point and he fell limply to the ground.

Ryan landed on the concrete ground with a tap recovering from his flying kick smugly looking at the man crumpled on the ground in front of him.

The soldier shook his overcoat slightly and brushed dust off it confidently unaware of a third mercenary inching behind him with a knife.

The buzz haired man stepped on some gravel alerting Ryan to him, but just as the raised his knife to stab the future soldier, a female blur body slammed the man into the truck sending him to the floor. Sarah let out a grunt when she slammed her foot into the man's face knocking him out.

There was a tense silence as both Sarah and Ryan exchanged looks for a moment.

"Tsk, I knew he was there …" Ryan scoffed confidently at the beauty's expecting look. Sarah glared at him when she didn't receive the thanks she was hoping for.

"Didn't look like it to me." She grinned at the playful pissing contest the two were in, following him as they moved toward the back of the truck to observe the cargo. Ryan returned the grin with a pirate one as he opened the slide cargo door.

"Maybe you need glasses …"

SMACK!

Sarah was startled when a large black combat boot made contact with Ryan's chest sending him into a pile of wooden crates. She stepped back when the monster of a man that tried to grab her from the sewers during her rescue of Derek jumped out of the vehicle.

This time the there were veins like spider webs visible through out his hardened physic. He walked toward where Ryan was buried.

"YOU!" he bellowed at the Soldier who got to his feet cradling his cauterized wound. "YOU"RE SUPPOSE TO BE DEAD!" he had murder in his voice.

"Sorry to disappoint." Ryan glared unfamiliarly at the large man as the monster stomped toward him. Sarah spotted a black liquid spewing from under the metal mask almost like drool.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you done to me!" he growled all but ignoring Sarah has he walked toward Ryan aggressively.

"I've crushed lots of Skynet's Science projects under my heel over the years,am I to remember you?" he baited gripping something behind his back with his left hand.

Ryan's comment drove the man over the limit and he stormed forward at the officer.

Waiting for the last second Ryan turned and flung a bar of Coltan at the man's face with his mechanical arm at a high speed causing there to be sparks on contact with the mask. While the monster was reeling at the force, Ryan sprinted and leaped on his hands and propelled his boots to the monster's face. The large man back peddled. Landing on his feet, Ryan tried to finish him with a hard double round house kick to the mask, which finally sent the lumbering behemoth to the ground.

Dropping to a knee, Ryan clenched his chest wound out of breath. The large man seemed to be wheezing for a moment as the Captain struggled to his feet.

Suddenly a flash of the sun light caught his attention. On a roof a footballs field away a petite shadowed figure was kneeling holding a RPG in the ready position aiming for the space where Sarah was standing.

"Get out of the way!" Ryan yelled ignoring the pain in his chest as he sprinted away from the large man toward Sarah who tensed not sure what was going on, or where to go, not seeing the assassin.

The trail of a rocket coming at them caused the officer to tackle the woman to the ground as the rocket propelled grenade slammed into the cargo hold of the truck causing an explosion.

An extreme blast of heat passed over Ryan's back as he cradled Sarah under him in a protective hug, holding her tightly as rubble and debris blanketed both Connors.

Rubble in flames and aluminum where pushed off to side as Ryan and Sarah emerged. With out a second look the soldier reached out and touched Sarah's face gently observing the scrap on her forehead and a cut on her lip. She blinked her eyes open as she lay flat on the concrete loading zone.

"Are you alright?" He asked docilely stroking her hair as she looked at him hazily her brain still sluggish. She nodded with a swallow and sat up slowly with his tender help. Her jacket was ripped at the elbows and her shirt and jeans where torn and her milky skin had deep red nasty concrete burns.

Meanwhile Ryan's entire back of his overcoat was synged and ripped further with little first degree burns littered across a part of his back like nasty animal claw marks. He gently got up and hoisted Sarah up by her waist gingerly; both used each other for support. All around them fiery debris and the remains of the semi smoked and filled the air with the unpleasant smell of burnt rubble that made Sarah's sense of smell go numb.

Suddenly, they heard powerful ragged breaths behind them.

Turning they watched the monster get to his feet and swayed a moment his muscle mass shrinking as he let out a growl of intense pain. On instinct Sarah drew the pistol from her waistband and pointed it at the monster that heaved his chest at them.

"You won't beat me … you won't beat me!" He growled and chanted at them as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a green vile attached to a syringe gun.

"That can't be …" Ryan said quietly causing Sarah to flicker eyes at him. With a violent jab he injected the gun like syringe into his arm pushing the green liquid into his system.

The man let out a roar as his muscles bulged bigger than they had been and his purple crazed eyes became blood shot. His larger than life chest began to heave and there was a rage to the man that couldn't be contained.

"_Eden serum!" _

Ryan's eyes flashed as the powerful man rode the wave of adrenaline that threatened to burst his eyeballs, squaring his shoulder toward the two.

"What the hell is going on … what just happened!" Sarah asked Ryan fearfully, her gun trained on the monster. The soldier placed his hand on the gun and pushed it down slowly.

"Guns aren't going to help us here."

"Why ?"

"Because all they're going to do is piss him off."

Suddenly the chrome masked man roared again, the adrenaline driving his blood lust to the breaking point. Unable to think, unable to rationalize his rage, he charged blindly at the two.

The charging man had all the fire and craze of a bull seeing red watching Ryan and Sarah in such close proximity to each other.

Sarah raised the gun to fire a shot but when the man's thundering feet created rivers of cracks on the concrete she realized that her companion wasn't exaggerating. Then with a hard push Sarah was tossed to the side by Ryan who jumped out of the way to the other side just in time as the monster slammed shoulder first into a shipping container leaving a dent the size of a car.

Sarah gritted her teeth at the hard concrete burn now on her shoulder that her now ripped Jacket did a poor job of protecting her from. She bit her lip and cradled her shoulder as she watched the monster go after Ryan.

Standing in a fighting position the soldier ducked under a swing, trying to get behind his opponent, Then another as he tried to get the advantage on the "_Manster"_. However his luck ran out when one of the large hands grabbed the front of Ryan's head like a cantaloupe lifting him high off the ground obscuring his sight.

"You will not take her from me again!" he growled, constricting his grip on Ryan's head as if trying to crush it like an egg, gaining painful growls from his opponent.

Going on pure instinct Sarah drew her pistol and unloaded five shots into the man's back. But just like in the sewers, the bullets made sickening thuds in the man's skin but where stopped in the man's muscles sticking in him like thumb tacks.

Swinging forward in the air Ryan kicked his foot across the man's face, then pulled his leg over and slammed the heel of his boot into the back of the monsters neck each blow caused the man to gag. Finally, Ryan locked his ankles around the large man's neck and twisted his legs flipping the monster on his face.

Rolling, Ryan got to his feet and backed away nursing the stab wound on his chest.

"Get … Get out of here!" he gasped at Sarah who stood up and was ready to assist him.

The monster got to his feet and came after Ryan again. The soldier moved out of the way, but the blood lusting man grabbed the officer by the tail of his black coat and swung him around once before throwing him face first into the storage container. His entire body landed flat on the orange metal wall and he slid like sap rolling down a tree to the ground on his side.

Sarah watched the monster advance on the dazed time traveler till she got an idea and sprinted as fast as she could down the loading area.

Ryan felt soft hands snatch him off the ground and pull him into an iron hug that became constrictive like he was in between the arms of a metal claw that was covered with a rug.

"I'm going to break you, Connor!" a growled metallic voice stated. Ryan winced in pain as the strong smell of decay and rancidness was being blown in his face from under the mask.

Feeling the air being crushed out of him, the Captain slammed his feet to the metal wall of the orange container and pushed off with all his might. The opposite force put the monster on his heels and fell backwards landing on the back of his head, while Ryan bounced out of his grip and rolled forward onto his knees.

Panting heavily Ryan staggered several feet away before the monster got to his feet once again in a daze.

"There is no escape from my wrath!" the man yelled at him thundering closer.

The sound of squealing tires echoed down the road. With a snap of there heads they Found the Desert Canyon Heating & Air semi in reverse at full speed barreling toward them.

Ryan reacted by rolling evasively out of the way, but the Monster wasn't as quick and the Cargo hold of the truck swallowed the vengeful man sending him and the truck full of Metal through some crates and into the ocean.

Breathing heavily Ryan looked to the shoreline watching the truck sink into murky sea water before Sarah jogged up next to him. Both looked on for a moment.

"Nice shot …" Ryan nodded impressed with Sarah. She nodded in thanks without looking at him.

"I'll call that a strike."

* * *

The small concrete fallout bunker Sarah sat in was expansive and covered with expensive computer and lab equipment that she had only seen on television shows and movies and had been sure was made up. The area around her was lit by dozens of automated overhead lights that shined with out a sense of quitting. .

Cradling her shoulder and biting her lip at the burning sting on her knees she explored the compound that Ryan had taken her to.

When they had first escaped the docks Sarah had been sure that Ryan was just rushing as far away as possible, but she started to get suspicious when they ended up in an industrial graveyard. She remembered thinking how best to Jump off his motorcycle if she even got the inkling that he was taking her someplace to kill or possible torture her for information. But just as she was about to protest they went up a sewer pipe and traveled in the dark before he jumped the Cycle out of the pipe and into the concrete bunker she now stood alone in, while he commented on getting medical supplies going up a ladder.

She walked by a small shooting range with a paper target pinned to a thick rug to stop the bullets.

Walking farther inside the complex she found a table of forensic lab equipment, one of which was a glass case with little laser scanner arms circling an empty glass vile with green residue that Ryan had taken with him.

"Huh" she moved on to the crown jewel of the room.

The stack of plasma screens attached to a consul and a set of three key boards. Sarah hadn't been much for computers her entire life, but after a year in the future she realized that they where everything in this time period, so she asked to be tutored by John and even Derek on the basics of it to which Derek eventually walked away and John nearly Overdosed himself on Tylenol and suggested that they take a five month break from lessons that usually ended in screaming matches about things that had nothing to do with computers.

Sarah ran a hand over the console to which the screens beeped to life with local news stations, surveillance of traffic ways, and a far screen with a digital picture of the scanning syringe vile. She jumped back startled by the activation, watching the screens she lifted an eyebrow that stung due to a cut above it.

After a moment of observing the screens she spotted something hauntingly familiar. Near the servers for systems sat a T-888 chip plugged into the system just like she had seen John and Cameron do with Vick's chip.

Her stomach turned as she thought about what Vick did to John's laptop while left alone. She walked over and hesitantly reached for the chip.

"**Please don't touch that."**

Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin when the accented voice sounded over an intercom. She looked around quickly trying to put a face to it.

"Sorry, Oracle's a little sensitive about people touching her … so to speak."

She turned to see Ryan climbing down the metallic ladder with a duffle over his shoulder.

"Oracle?" she asked with confusion.

"Yeah, Oracle …" he motioned to the chip as he walked toward a paper cluttered desk. "She runs the command center." He answered waving Sarah over. She walked toward him, but shot suspicious looks toward the chip.

"**It's quite alright Ms. Connor; I'm programmed to follow Captain Phillips orders to the letter." **

Sarah jumped again and looked around startled at the voice. Ryan made a slashing motion across his throat to the chip.

"**Very well, sir." **

The voice blipped out causing Sarah to circle around for sight of the speakers before finally closing the distance between her and the soldier.

"You think it's wise to have that thing unsupervised?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Ryan snorted, digging through the bag.

"She's different …" he sighed distractedly as he ruffled through supplies.

"_Where have I heard that before?" _

"What makes you say that?" she crossed her arms defiantly.

"Well …" he drew out the word with a grunt pulling out a cue tip and placed a purple gel on it. "Because she's not reprogrammed … she's just programmed." He stated popping the cap back on the tube. Sarah frowned in confusion.

"What's that mean?" she shrugged with a wince. He pulled a roller chair forward and motioned for her to sit.

"That means that my old man created her programming from scratch." He stated carefully watching her gingerly sit on the chair.

Sarah humphed at the statement and watched carefully as he kneeled in front of her and moved the cue tip toward her face. She immediately caught his wrist.

"Easy … it's just liquid stitches." He showed her the purple gel on the cotton end of the stick. She breathed an untrustworthy breath but released her hold on his arm, letting him start. Sarah hitched her breath painfully at the sting of the liquid being rolled gently over her cut eyebrow.

"Where did you get the money for all this?" She asked turned her eyes to a billboard with pictures and articles of a familiar clown plastered on the wooden surface with thumb tacks and a red sting of yarn tied on to each other in a pattern.

"It helps, when there are millions of dollars just lying around in the future and ways to know what to invest in, in the stock market for the next several years." He chuckled a little as he worked on Sarah's eyebrow. She grinned slightly, wincing at a sting. He apologized and bit his lip.

"Is that the clown that stuck you?" she said looking at the picture. "The one John killed?" Her voice cracked at the idea of her boy not killing once, but twice now. Ryan nodded without looking at his flow chart. There was a silence in the room for a moment as the soldier finished.

"Hey …" Ryan placed a curled finger under Sarah's chin gently and looked her in the eye. "John Connor doesn't take a life lightly; He did what he did, because he had no choice." His words were a strange comfort to Sarah as was his touch.

Both paused a moment and she flicked her eyes to the hand. He cleared his throat and moved it away awkwardly.

"All done." He smiled placing a band aid over her cut. He got to his feet and turning back to the bag behind him. She observed more rips and tears in the overcoat and several burns marks on his back.

"You want me to look at that?" she asked with a clear of her throat. He glanced over his shoulder.

"No … no, I'll get it later." He shook his head turning and handing her an ice pack to which she pressed to her shoulder giving a slight hiss at the cold bite to her tender shoulder.

"**Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt but the scan is done on the vile and I pulled security footage from your fight…" **

Sarah jumped one last time then glared at the ceiling, to which Ryan smiled amusingly.

"Alright …" he bit back a laugh and walked to the computer consol and sat in the big leather chair. Sarah got out of the chair and followed to the consol and stood behind Ryan as he tapped several keys.

"**As you feared, sir … the vile contains tweaked traces of Skynet's "Eden serum" which caused the muscle growth and rampage from your opponent at the docks." **

"So where talking long term use here …?" he replied typing several more keys.

Grainy security footage on the main screen showed the Monster from earlier inject himself and then grow larger. Sarah found it just as hard to watch the second time as the first. There was just something about the engorging and inhumanness of large human muscles that made her squeamish. Even when she was in high school the body builders and weight lifters always grossed her out.

"Eden?" she asked with a frown watching the footage. Ryan turned and looked at her in surprise as if he had forgotten she was there.

"Yeah …" He sighed rubbing his soul patch thoughtfully and leaning back in his seat. "It's sort of Skynet's super soldier formula. It's a narcotic that's supposed to speed up your body, making you faster, stronger, and smarter. The canners were trying to find a way to give it to their human auxiliaries on the battle field." He spoke lost in thought.

"But …?" Sarah pushed sensing a catch.

"But, it's all temporary … and the side effects are sever, whatever it gives you it takes away eventually and it charges interest." He looked up at Sarah.

"So what are we talking about?" She shook her head.

"It slowly eats at your brain, long term effects are uncontrollable anger and aggression, the adrenaline boosts sets you're body at rate that will eventually burn you out if you don't shoot up … after a while you're dependent on it." He shook his head and sighed. "It was Skynet's short term solution to hold off the resistance." He looked off to the screen observing there fight on the docks.

"Did it work?" Sarah asked interested as well as disgusted by the whole story. Ryan shook his head.

"There's only been one test subject that's survived … and he's been long gone" Ryan said darkly.

"**Sir, you might want to explore the possibility that the **_**Minotaur**_** survived your last encounter, judging by the history linked to him and the serum?"**

"No" Ryan responded shortly and quickly as if closing that line of thinking. Sarah missed the slight fearful glance he shot her, hoping that she wouldn't catch the name.

He was in luck as he watched Sarah concentrate on the video watching a RPG just miss her and Ryan.

"Did he have back up?" She asked with a frown leaning in to get a better look at the screen. Ryan leaned forward and typed several seconds.

"Rewind and slow frame." He ordered. There was a chirp and the rocket appeared slowing out of the truck explosion moving backward. "Alright, follow rocket to source." The picture moved till it focused on a pixilated image. "Freeze" he called. The picture did as commanded. "Zoom and blow up." The picture did so leaving a blurry Red and black figure on one knee. "Zoom out and focus." Ryan and Sarah squinted as the picture cleared.

The petite female figure was clad in all leather with a red helmet.

Sarah glared in familiarity and turned.

Ryan had dark and sadly troubled brown eyes as he looked on the image in front him.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

Ryan sat back and placed his chin inside his closed fist.

"That's a face I haven't seen in a very longtime."

* * *

Serena turned off the water to the shower and stood soaked for a moment. She sighed coming out of the glass paneled shower and onto her thousand dollar rug that felt snug on her bare feet. With a content smile she grabbed the towel off the rack and stepped out in front of the mirror.

She had sallow brown eyes and a pasty face. She was a woman in her late thirties; her long curly chocolate brown hair was pined back and in a bun. She was an attractive woman for her age and her slim body was well balanced with it's attributes as for easy seduction of who ever she wished to bring into her bedroom.

She wrapped the towel over her body, the doctor hummed happily as she walked into her expanse futuristic master bedroom from the lavishly designed restroom. It was comprised of glass tables and black plastic furniture imported from Sweden.

She however stopped when the evening sun was shown through the window shining on the silhouette of a petite girl in tight leather pants and a threadbare see through white tank top. Her long chocolate hair shined in the sunset beautifully.

The girl turned her face to the side to look at the woman. Serena smiled softly at the girl, seeing a red helmet sitting on the bed next to a padded leather jacket.

"Hello baby." Serna addressed her maternally.

Her smile disappeared when the girl turned to face her fully. She was an angelic beauty that once had innocence to her expressionless features. However, now it was replaced with a look of ageless wisdom and hardness. She had one hardened brown eye to her left while her right was covered by a black eye patch. She brandished a short sword like combat knife in a leather gloved hand with intent to use it.

"Hello Mother."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**So now we know who the Red Mask is … but does Ryan know who it is?**

**The start of this chapter and the flashback have been kicking in my head since I was neck deep in Purpose. If you listen to Alan Silvestri piece of score from Forest Gump called Run Forest Run then it should mesh well with Ryan on the balcony and the flashback. Because I think that it fits young Ryan's personality. **

**The Eden Formula is not from purpose it's something new that I've been working on since purpose, but like I said not in the story.**

**The Minotaur however is briefly mentioned in Purpose. (Figgy knows)**

**Love your reviews guys. **

**PS. Jameron will be in next chapter.**


	10. Deck the Halls

**Warning!**

**This chapter will be psychological and deeply sad. **

**I've learned from this style of story telling in 1983 that flames tend to erupt when some people don't like what they read.**

**So please don't flame if you don't like it. **

**Deck the Halls**

_**There was a small breeze that floated over the North African desert that tugged at the grown out raven hair on Ryan's head.**_

_**The soldier in his late twenties stood outside of a small hovel that was whitewashed to keep the heat of the day out of the living space. The lieutenant watched the sun slowly set over the hill like dunes that were collapsed then rebuilt by the shifting winds of the harsh climate.**_

_**Ryan found it interesting and almost peaceful to watch, not minding the isolation of his location, though to tell the truth he didn't quiet recognize where he was. As he watched the painted sky pensively the sound of a beautiful voice was carried over the light sandy breeze. **_

_**The voice was familiar and enticing to the man, he couldn't help but think that it must belong to an angel. With a readjustment to his leather jacket he followed the voice. **_

_**It was sweet and smooth like running honey; it was sung low as if the female it belonged to wanted her song to be background. With a silent click, Ryan opened the door to the small home. **_

_**Inside of the hovel was mostly bare with a rack of rifles near a glassless window that was letting the fading light in. A cot for two was pressed to a wall and close by a hand carved cradle Ryan remembered was a gift from a native tribal leader whose life the soldier had saved from a centaur patrol machine when he had first arrived in north Africa. The sound of creaking on the stone floor mixed with singing turned the officer's head. **_

_**The sight of a beautiful woman with haunting crystal blue eyes and long curled locks in a white dress holding a sleeping newborn baby boy with curly black hair while she creaked back and forth on a rocking chair dropped Ryan to his knees in shock and pure sadness.**_

_**Seeing the man in the door the exotic beauty stopped humming and smiled softly. **_

"_**I didn't think you would ever get back …" she commented quietly as she rocked. Ryan recovered from his shock at the sight of the girl. **_

_**Getting back to his feet he quietly walked toward them, till he was looming over. After a pause, the soldier slowly stuck a hand shaken with emotion and disbelief toward her as if checking to see if she wasn't some desert mirage playing a trick on him, catching her cheek he felt a numbed sense of touch at her moisturized skin. **_

_**The girl smiled and turned into the touch. Ryan sputtered a breath and sniffled as they locked eyes. **_

"_**You want to hold him?" She asked with a bright smile. Ryan nodded feeling a cold sting of a breeze sweep into the room. **_

"_**Hold on a minute." He stopped her as he removed his old leather jacket and beaconed her to hand him the baby. Once he had him in his grip he wrapped the newborn in the comfortable warmth of the coat like a blanket, the collar covering the baby's head gently. The small human being made little whimpers as he squirmed comfortably in Ryan's arms. **_

"_**He's absolutely perfect …" the girl cued standing and placing her chin on his shoulder, both staring at the sleeping squishy faced baby.**_

"_**I can't disagree." The soldier had a tear in his eye as he reached over and stroked the soft wavy black hair on top of the baby's head. **_

_**Both Ryan and the girl traded sad smiles than she turned back to the baby. **_

"_**Say goodnight, daddy." She said sweetly looking back down at the new born. Ryan turned in protest but knew there wouldn't be any room for argument.**_

"_**Good night, Cowboy …" Ryan said with a shaky breath and kissed the baby on his small forehead, causing the baby to shift in his sleep. **_

_**After another moment the young woman slowly eased the baby from his grip and walked to the crib and placed the baby inside adjusting the jacket like a blanket on the newborn. **_

_**Watching her secure the baby in the crib, Ryan walked to the cot and sat on the edge of the mattress. When he looked up he saw the girl looking back at him, she leaned back on the crib and still had a longing smile on her face. **_

_**Wordlessly, the black haired beauty walked toward the soldier and gently settled herself on his lap. She reached out and touched Ryan's face. **_

"_**You've been gone long time." **_

_**With a sniffle the officer enveloped her in his arms and buried his face into her chest. The girl had tears sprinkling out slowly as she nuzzled his hair. **_

_**They held each other for a longtime before the young woman broke the contact and cupped Ryan's cheek with her hand. **_

"_**Now dearest love …" she took her other hand and stroked his stubble and looked intimately into softened brown eyes. "It's time for you to wake up." She said with conviction despite tears rolling down her eyes. **_

_**Ryan shook his head with tears of his own. **_

"_**I don't want to." He croaked painfully.**_

_**She let out a silent sob and nodded in disagreement. **_

"_**You have to wake up … this isn't were you need to be right now." She consoled. **_

"_**I don't want to leave you again … I can't do that." He fought off sobs. **_

_**The young woman leaned in and kissed the soldier with all the love she could muster. Ryan returned the kiss full force; they were one in that instant sharing a soul and a life. **_

_**Then the girl broke the kiss and looked Ryan in the eye. **_

"_**We'll always be here … waiting." She pulled him into an embrace to which Ryan held her close. With a nuzzle she placed her lips close to his ear. **_

"_**I'll always Love you, but it's time to wake up." **_

* * *

John came down the stairs with a relative ease coming from his room that morning.

His exuberance was one part genuine the other part smug.

Today the family was pulling out their winter clothing and getting into the Christmas spirit. He had never been much for holidays after the last five years, but this time it was different, he had a family, and there was no way he was putting up with the cop out that was last years Christmas. Which turned out to be just his mom and Cameron, where they ate processed lunch meat, decorated a crappy second hand tree and John and Sarah ended the evening falling asleep together watching Miracle on 34th street while Cameron checked the perimeter.

Like Derek had said on his birthday. "When there are thing to celebrate, they should be celebrated." And John wasn't going to waste this opportunity.

As he walked into the living room he could smell the warmth of pancake batter with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. It made his mouth water just to hear the grill going.

John smiled when he realized that with the absence of the burnt smell of the Sarah Connor specialty, that Cameron must be in the kitchen, as he recalled her pursuit of such a feet as the family cook after a unfortunate oven fire caused by overcooked home made pizza forgotten in a now legendary argument between his mom and uncle over something miniscule the other day. he couldn't help but snort at the fact that Cameron now considered Sarah a security risk in the kitchen and maintains that she be supervised at all times while in it's domain.

Walking into the dinning room John caught the smell of stale cologne and alcohol. John gagged at the smell of liquor, learning his lesson after a bender a week ago.

"Mary …"

With a lifted eyebrow the young man turned to the voice to find the newest houseguest sitting in a chair and passed out, slumping over the dinning room table. A pencil in hand with a manila file folder open with medical licenses and psych evaluation reports scattered over the table and a open notebook journal. Ryan's hair was disheveled and he had a five day growth of facial hair. His plain blue button down had a three claw mark tears on his shoulder like an animal got lose on him.

John also found with interest that he had a bleed through bandage wrapped around his wrist.

Farther away from him was a plate with a half eaten turkey sandwich and a bottle of beer.

"_Dude, looks like crap." _

Lifting an eyebrow John walked through the dining room and into the kitchen to find Cameron as predicted in front of the skillet. She wore a black spaghetti strap tank top that showed off her toned stomach and tight cowgirl jeans complete with a belt buckle and a towel shoved half way in the front of her pants, like a quarterback.

"Hey there …" John greeted bumping her shoulder as she watched the pancakes intently. After sliding a stack on the plate next to the stove, she turned toward him and smiled brightly.

"Good morning, John" she greeted with an innocent tone to her voice. John's knees felt like butter, but after a year he had learned to burry the affection for the girl.

"Those look good." John motioned to the plate that was being filled with four strips of bacon. "That looks even better." He commented at the liberal amount of bacon added.

"Yes, I hope it is." Cameron half agreed, but instead of moving to give it to him she walked out of the kitchen. John was a little taken back by the action.

He felt like an ass for just assuming that she had made it for him. But then she still might have, and this was her way of forcing him to eat at the table.

Following the silhouette of the teen, John entered the room behind the girl and to their surprise they found the soldier up and stacking papers and placing them back into the file. He had a stray tear in his eye which was wiped away with a forearm.

"Where are you going?" Cameron asked with interest that caught John as intriguing.

"I'm late, for a meeting." He replied with a tired gruff to his voice. Cameron took a step forward.

"With who?" she tilted her head. This once again colored John interested at his protector's spur for knowledge.

The man cut Cameron a look. "Don't worry about it." Ryan answered shutting the folder with irritation.

John was about to chime in when there was a knock at the door. Looking back and forth between the two other individuals, the teen huffed when it knocked a second time and took off out of the room.

There was a silence as Ryan closed the journal.

"You didn't eat the entire sandwich I made you earlier this morning when you got home." Cameron pointed out to the plate. The soldier turned to the food in question.

"I don't remember eating it …" he sighed making a clack as he straightened the papers in the file.

Cameron blinked dejectedly before offering him a plate of pancakes.

"I made you breakfast." She said hopefully. The man lifted an eyebrow at the offering.

"I gotta get out of here." He tossed a thumb over his shoulder, before pulling his old leather jacket off the back of the chair. Cameron nodded with a disappointed face setting the plate on the table.

"You should redress that wound." She pointed back to his wrist.

"When I get back …"

"It could get infected."

Ryan huffed in annoyance at the girl.

"It's a dog bite … I'm sure it's fine." He replied shoving an arm into the sleeve of his jacket.

"German Sheppard?" she asked. Ryan shrugged.

"I don't know …" He put his other arm through the jacket and shrugged it on comfortably. "But I sure as hell know that it wasn't a Scottish terrier." He chuckled bitterly folding up the back of his collar.

"How were you attacked by dogs?" Cameron pushed. Ryan scoffed tiredly placing the journal in his inner coat pocket.

"Pescadero" he answered. Cameron blinked at the response.

"The mental hospital?" she asked.

"I know, apparently some head Shrink there named Silberman had them keep K9's on the premises … who the fuck does that?" he commiserated with himself as he moved to leave. "Give this to Derek to look over … tell him we need to talk." He said handing her the file and walked out of the dining room.

Cameron looked to the manila folder, it had the name Pescadero stamped on the front and on the tab the name of _**DR. SERENA KOGEN**_ was printed in clean writing.

She knew the name well; it had been all over the media she monitored for Skynet activity. The woman was a well respected psychologist and genetic scientist. The intellectual community mourned her passing, well known after she became the head of Pescadero after Sarah's escape and Silverman's retirement. That was until she was brutally carved to an inch to her life and her mansion burned to the ground.

But Cameron had followed the story for another reason, because in the future the woman would help develop and mold the Artificial Intelligence built from Skynet's code that would be one day known as Cameron, since the day she was created the woman had been there, teaching her about human's and other odd things about life she didn't understand as a new Artificial Intelligence, in a away the butchered woman was the closest to a mother she had ever had.

Cameron's musing was interrupted by Ryan coming back into the room and picking up a slice of bacon from his plate.

"Thanks for trying." He planted a kiss to her bare shoulder and gave her a swift but tight hug from behind before he left again. There was a moment before Cameron smiled gently.

Once he was gone she gave a human sigh and went back to the kitchen and pancake batter, pouring several circles on the skillet.

"I can't believe it!" Sarah raged silently with a slam of Ryan's abandoned plate on the island announcing her presence. Cameron continued to cook.

"Good morning, Sarah." she flipped a pancake passavily.

"What kind of family celebration is this if "that girl" is going to be there?" Sarah ignored Cameron and began to eat the bacon off the plate angrily.

Cameron had become accustom and well versed in referring to Riley, who she guessed, had been the one at the door as "That Girl" which was code between the two. "I mean … say we get into a car accident." Sarah asked.

"That won't happen if I'm driving …" The girl shot flipping another pancake. Sarah gave Cameron an annoyed glare.

"**If** it did happen, and we were stranded for an extended amount of time … what would we talk about? Hell … what does John have in common with that girl anyway?" Sarah growled eating another strip of bacon.

It was at times like these that the cyborg would point out that Sarah was acting no better than a sixteen year old mean girl whose territory Riley was "Pissing" all over. But Cameron knew that if she accused the former cheerleader of reverting she would never hear the end of it and neither would the entire family on there way to the surprise location John was taking them to.

"John isn't interested in witchcraft or Satan worship, so it does confuse me as well." Cameron replied icily. Sarah cracked a silent smile at the comment.

"I see things are going well in here." John said out loud coming into the room.

"They were." Sarah commented under her breath when Riley walked into the room. Cameron ignored the girl's presence finishing the stack of pancakes.

John had wanted for this day to be special and for there to be some sense of normalcy between his close friend, his best friend, and the girl he loved. When John got his idea he wasn't sure, how this would turn out. He knew his mother (his best friend) would end up coming down on Cameron (the girl he loved) like a ton of bricks over something little and Cameron would only say something snarky in her own cute and innocent cyborg way that would only fan Sarah's temper and he couldn't even think about how messed up it could be when both came after Riley. But last night he had put his faith in his loved ones, but two seconds into the good old fashion Connor family Christmas his mother still hadn't grown up and Cameron was being surprisingly dismissive.

"This is going to be fun." Riley muttered to John walking on egg shells around Sarah who seemed to hear the comment and was eating the stack of pancakes with a dangerous glare.

"So, hey!" John cleared his throat and moved toward Cameron who was dumping the last of the batter on the skillet. "Why such a big breakfast?" he asked.

"You said that today is a special day … so I made a special breakfast." She smiled as she flipped a pancake. John bit his lip trying to suppress the urge to kiss the cook. He let off a smile and backed away slowly as not to do something stupid.

While John and Cameron conversed with Riley watching on begrudgingly Derek appeared in the kitchen, However when he spotted three females in his nephews life gathered in a enclosed space he was about to turn the other way unnoticed, that was till Sarah caught the hem of his shirt and pulled him back, without looking.

"Hey, John, Derek is coming with us, to whatever it is you're taking us." Sarah announced to her son in an even tone as she ate Ryan's pancakes with one hand and clamped on to Derek's shirt with the other.

Derek gave her a pleading look, but he knew that his roomy had settled with the classic Sarah Connor, "If I go, Derek has to come." indifferent attitude that left no wiggle room.

"Umm … Okay." He frowned in confusion at Derek who begrudgingly sighed and grabbed a fork out of Cameron's hands that had been meant for John and hacked off a piece of Sarah's pancakes.

Cameron glared and went back to get a fork for John.

"So … where is this place we're going?" Riley asked brightly.

"Well …" John nodded in thanks and sat on a stool across from Derek and Sarah. After stuffing a large quantity in his mouth he smiled.

"I'll show you …"

* * *

It surprised Derek just how much blind faith John seemed to have in people sometimes.

During the war, he would sit and watch John make a strange choice in decision planning, putting all of his trust in one man; Derek would throw a fit and go into rants about the nativity of John and how he was an idiot like he hadn't been through the hell and back like the rest of them. But it always worked out. The soldier never fathomed how sometimes John's plans never seemed to make sense till the end when the day was theirs. Those plans were called the "Connor Gambit" and it had happened so many times over the years that Derek learned to put his head down and do his job.

"So what was your favorite Christmas present of all time, Cameron?"

"Ignorance of Riley Dawson."

However Derek had come to realize while sitting in the front seat looking back at the three females sitting squished together in the back of the truck, all with pissed off looks on there face with the sound of the 24 hour Christmas music radio station that John was humming too as he wondered a parking lot, that maybe he could safely question his nephews decisions today.

"_He knows what he's doing." _

Derek snorted lightly at his nephew who had the trade mark look that said John Connor knew what he was doing. However it wasn't lost on Derek that Sarah, who was stuck sitting in between Cameron and Riley, for the blond's protection, also knew what John was doing and wasn't amused.

"How much further?" Sarah's tone was as sharp as a sowing pin. John winced at her tone but didn't falter.

"The next person who asks me that loses a hand …" John shot back laying on the horn at some teenage girls who just speed into a parking space he claimed. Sarah and Riley glared while Cameron looked at her own hand in thought.

There was ten more minutes of wandering a parking lot, most of which were spent watching Cameron and Sarah bicker about fashion, which Derek would never admit sounded like a genuine mother and daughter argument.

After finding the parking space everyone followed John down the what seemed to be the half mile walk to the entrance of the building that Stopped Derek cold.

"Century City Mall?" Sarah crossed her arms over her chest at the bitterly cold air and lifted her eyebrow.

"Yeah … I mean what better way to get into the holiday spirit then a little Christmas shopping?" John gave Sarah a grin that she couldn't help but return, in that smile he gave her, she saw the five year old boy that always wanted a family Christmas.

"I guess I couldn't argue with that?" she relented.

For the first time in a year there was a true understanding between the two that use to be so common. A silent wave link that only John and Sarah were in tune with that connected them to each other on a subconscious level that made love something that didn't need to be expressed because it was like a powerful river running through them.

Cameron smiled, because she had mentioned that quote to John the other night as he was mussing loudly about what would get the family in the yuletide fever. She liked it when John took her suggestions to heart.

Riley's face lit up and just seemed chipper at the fact that she was getting a chance to go shopping.

However, it was Derek who seemed hesitant to take a step toward the large sprawling building that housed hundreds of stores. He stood with his back to the truck door, like a cornered man. His hazel green eyes had fear in them as he read the name looming over the entrance.

"Hey Derek … you okay?" John noticed Derek's hesitancy and uncharacteristic uncertainty.

"Huh?" he looked toward the young man with surprise as if his voice shoved him out of a walking dream of horrifying familiarity.

"You alright … you look a little pale, man?" John shoved his hands in his pockets. Derek blinked his wide eyes gaining control of himself.

"Yeah …" Derek nodded his head "Yeah, I'm good, must be the cold" He cleared his throat and walked past him, ignoring Sarah's gaze.

John and Cameron traded looks, He could tell that the girl knew what was eating at his uncle, but decided to leave as it is.

"Come on" John pressed his hand on Sarah's beanie clad head, not being able to get over how cute she looked in her coat and head covering. Sarah swatted his hand away with a playful grin giving him a push.

Cameron brought up the rear of the small group that made their way to the impressive looking glass entrance of the brand new mall that was suppose to be the big thing in the city. All around the entrance people were moving, filing in and out of the area looking to get there Christmas shopping done.

While initially Sarah couldn't say no to her boy about the normalcy of traditions for their new family. The sheer volume of people entering and going through the door was a security risk.

Sarah gave John a look that said she was having second thoughts about this. Not to her surprise John seemed to be waiting for the turn of her head with the frown she was now giving him.

"Stay close to Cameron …" she glared, conceding that she couldn't deprive her boy of something simple as a shopping trip.

As the group made there way forward, Derek panicked for a moment and grabbed John's arm and pulled back.

"Wow … what the hell!" he called out in surprise. Sarah was also surprised at such a quick and desperate motion. The emotional look in the soldier's eyes made Sarah worry that Derek might have seen metal lurking that Cameron might have missed.

It only took a moment before Derek realized what he had done and let John go. He looked stressed beyond his years, as if the sight of the building was bleeding him into old age.

"I'm sorry …" he blinked seeing that he freaked out not only Sarah, John, and Riley, but he had also attracted some unwanted attention their way from passers by.

There was a pause between everyone as if waiting for an explanation. But Derek gave none after an anticipated silence.

"Umm … you go on ahead, I'm just going to be out here a moment." He motioned the family forward.

They hesitated, before everyone moved on inside.

John held the door open for the girls in a mock gentlemanly manner before looking to Derek who stood in the middle of the entrance looking at him with the same scared eyes, before he entered the large shopping mall.

* * *

The wind swept across arms depot 7 warehouse just outside the city was one of the worst stations you could get out in the middle of nowhere.

That was at least what Andrew Lawrence thought as he walked back and forth numbly over the concrete asphalt covered ground, making his jump boots click as he adjusted his heavy digital cameo coat. He should've been in Iraq or Afghanistan, but because of his dismal performance in boot camp, he was assigned guard duty outside some out of the way forgotten warehouse where there was little water on sight and nothing interesting unless you like your face to be whipped with sand. Yeah maybe this was what Afghanistan is like, but at least he would be doing something.

"_This is not being all I can be!" _

He sighed in frustration making his rounds again, counting his foot steps for the hell of it.

Through with his rounds for the hour (Not that it was needed) he was about to go back to his vivid fantasy about Megan Fox in a whip cream factory when a large horn blared over it.

He startled to find a small moving truck cruise past the open gate, that he had left lifted, because in all honesty who would come to the secret depot if they weren't there officially?

The soldier hitched his rifle on his shoulder and walked toward the vehicle that stopped in front of the loading dock.

"Hey!" Andrew called jogging up to the tinted window and knocked. "You need to show me your orders buddy!" he called.

The window rolled down to reveal a red helmeted female figure in a padded Motorcycle jacket. With out warning she pulled out a sawed off shotgun and pointed it at his face.

BOOM!

"_**Thank you for explaining …" **_

* * *

"Maybe John would like a hand job?"

"Cameron!"

When John said that this was a family affair Sarah somehow thought she would end up walking around the mall with John, going into the stores and looking at things and buying gifts together, which really was John choosing something for someone and Sarah putting her name on it, because Sarah was the worst gift giver ever.

However she never thought she would instead be stuck with Cameron in a sporting store getting disapproving stares from people while everyone listened to her cyborg daughter, make inappropriate gift suggestions while they pondered what to get John and Derek.

"John's nails are looking rough." She offered. "I could give him a satisfactory hand job … I've been reading books." There was innocence to her voice that would almost make Sarah laugh at the statement if it wasn't for a shocked mother leading her son away from them.

"No … Cameron." Sarah tried to cut her off.

"Oh, did you want to give Derek a hand job?" She asked. Sarah blushed a deep red at the comment.

"Stop saying that!" She snapped at the girl. "It's not called a … _hand job_." She hissed. "It called a manicure and men … at least most men don't get manicures." She warned the cyborg. Cameron nodded and followed Sarah into the baseball section; having sat through several games with John and Derek she knew that both enjoyed the sport very much.

"What size is Derek's hand?" Sarah asked touching the new leather of baseball gloves.

"Do you wish to give him a manicure?" Cameron asked intrigued. The woman glared at the girl, but Cameron smiled softly and handed a black right handed mitt to Sarah.

"I fooled you again." She announced with a now much wider smug smile. Sarah tried to burry a small affectionate grin as she took the glove from her hand. Then she placed it back and chose a dark tan one of the equal size and hand.

"Sarah?" Cameron tilted her head in curiosity.

"What …" she grinned to find the gloves on sale since the season was over.

"What is a hand job, and have you given John one before, and if so did he enjoy it?"

Sarah blinked at the teen through an emotionless stare.

"We'll figure John's gift out later …" Sarah announced and walked away.

"Sarah is a hand job an appropriate gift to give someone on Christmas?" she asked in pursuit.

"Shut up, Cameron!" She snapped at the stares she was getting, most of which told her that they weren't going to give her a gold star in parenting.

After paying a cashier the two left the store.

"What's that line for?" Cameron asked Sarah as they moved past crowds of shoppers.

Sarah looked out at the long line of adults with small children lined up in front of a winter wonderland display of fake cotton ball snow and a big candy cane thrown, where a fat man in a Santa suit sat with a fake beard flanked by two teenage girls in elf costumes who seemed to be keeping there distance from him.

"That's where you meet Santa Clause." Sarah answered distractedly, looking around the mall. Cameron was surprised at her comment.

"Really?" she asked. Sarah flipped her phone open.

"Yeah, when John was five I took him to one of those for the first time. Son of a bitch squeezed my ass and John kicked him in the balls and I decked him the face. Never been back there ever again." She placed the phone to her ear.

"Is that why you have to buy John's presents on Christmas?" Cameron asked.

Sarah didn't respond, just fixed her with a weird stare.

"Derek isn't picking up." She scoffed after a moment. "Here …" Sarah handed Cameron the bag. "I'm going to go outside to see if Derek's still out there, Watch his present." She walked briskly away.

Cameron glared at old Saint Nick and decided that it was time he answers for why he had been shunning John all these years.

* * *

The sound of a saxophone laying down some melancholy jazz telling a tale of longing for a blond named Julia that a wry handsome young man in a suite played seemed to be a fitting mood of the barroom of the Sultan of Swing. The piano accompaniment took the edge off the grit like a woman's touch to a hard boiled man's heart.

The bar had no inside lighting except for a row of neon signs that illuminated the bar room in a red and slightly blue hue that was easy on the eyes of the drunken fools on their early afternoon benders. It was an old saying to run to the light if you're ever lost in the Sultan, because you've other died or found an exit.

There were few people in the dark hazy bar room. Most kept to themselves, drinkers this early in the afternoon always were those looking to run from something, or in some cases just wanted to forget their past entirely. So, the need of conversation or human contact of any sort was unwanted.

Somewhere in the middle of the large polished wooden bar sat Ryan nursing an empty glass of scotch with the ice perspiring in the warm building that was offering shelter from the ironic bitter cold overcast day in sunny Los Angeles. The former officer sat on the bar stool looking into his empty drink. The neon blue lights winking behind him hit the ice just right and for a moment he saw her eyes again.

The soldier covered his face with his hand when the piano and sax hit a crescendo in the song, welling up a deep emotion that hurt too much to put into words.

"Keep … hit me again, and make it a double!" he said with a growl of pained sadness. The men cleaning a beer mug with a white hand towel stopped and nodded, bringing a bottle of scotch and filled the glass. When Ryan removed his hand the blue eyes were gone. With their disappearance his soul unclenched, taking a strong gulp of the burning liquid and sighed in relief.

Closing his eyes, he listened intently to the saxophone and the notes connected to it. Suddenly with enough concentration he could hear a baby crying in them. He rested his hand against his palm and took in the sound, drinking in the pain that slowly was killing his soul.

The sound of the door opening turned the man from his tortures musing to the sight of a familiar woman with elegant long black curls that reached just to her lower back and pinned back. Her beautiful face had light blush on her cheeks and a beauty mark on the line that separated her cheek from her nose. She wore a plaid button down that was tied around her lower chest with the buttons on the top mostly undid exposing her creamy cleavage that was supported by an almost visible black pushup bra. She walked up to the tired man softly swaying her hips to the music wrapping her body into his personal space

"You look tired …" the woman had Sarah's concern green eyes, nuzzling her nose into his matching grown out hair.

"You're late Weaver." Ryan gritted, taking another drink ignoring her inappropriate affection.

The Liquid Metal smiled at the comment and shrugged, savoring the discreet looks her sexy glamour was getting from the bar patrons.

"Unlike you, I have a company to run and look after … it takes time." She said coyly crossing her legs on the stool in a courtly manner as she sat next to him. He scoffed dismissively at her excuse and refused to look at the woman in the eye as she stared at his appearance.

"You could have shaved and maybe changed your clothing, for me." She stated running a cool hand across his thick stubble. Ryan slapped her hand away from his face.

There was a pause between them letting the melancholy jazz play off the tension.

"Call her off." Ryan cut through the silence sharply.

"Call who off?" Weaver asked innocently. Ryan slammed his glass down.

"Don't play cute with me. You think that I don't know about the Red Mask stalking Sarah in the shadows?" His voice was gashing and straight as a deadly arrow.

"How would I know what she's up too?" she flashed a grin at the bartender who was ogling the small tattoo Weaver gave Sarah on her lower back.

"Because, sometime after my father left me to find my mother on my own, that psychopath started showing up every time I got close to where you were holding her. So don't sit there and tell me that you don't have a fucking clue!" Ryan jabbed his finger at her like he was holding the metal at knife point.

Weaver frowned at the soldier's accusation. Out of all the people the liquid metal had met and contended with she hated the Captain next to her the most. John and Cameron Connor had killed her boy and their son Ryan was the creation, born out of love of John Henry's killers. She didn't find fate amusing that after all that she had taken from John and Cameron and all she had done, she could never inflict the same pain they had her, never being able to kill their child.

"You walk the same road, if I remember correctly she was the one who trained you? If there is anyone who knows how the Red Mask moves … It would be her most distinguished student." Weaver shot back at the man with a smug look of satisfaction at being able to throw it back in his face.

Ryan growled dangerously snatching Weaver by her shirt and pulled her inches from his face. "I'm warning you right now, if you're apart of this plot to kill Sarah, the truce is over." He shook her. The machine tilted her head at the threat.

"And who do you think will benefit from the conclusion?" she seemed amused at his comment.

"I dead serious … if the Red Mask even so much as looks at her wrong I'll personally dismember you and your AI." Ryan grinded his teeth to a growled tone.

"I'd love to see that …" Weaver glared at the warning.

"Try me!" his voice was soaked with hatred, looking hard into green eyes.

The stare down between the two carried an off setting amount of tension. There was an almost primal rage in Ryan's eyes that reflected something that Weaver saw as a weakness to be exploited to level the playing field.

"I'd be careful, _Detective _… that protectiveness might turn into an obsession that you can't control …" the liquid metal cupped the soldier's cheek as she whispered.

Ryan went rigid at not only the comment, but the way the machine had said it. He let go of her and turned back to his drink. Seeing the chink in the armor she moved to exploit it.

"You wouldn't be the first Connor to find comfort in me while I was in this form." Weaver gave a sultry smile the man's way.

The ex officer refused to look at Weaver taking a hard gulp of his drink as if to clear the memories of the past that her comment had dragged out of him.

"Go to Hell." He grunted riding the burn in his throat.

Like a dog on a bone Weaver was determined not to give her enemy the satisfaction of escaping her strong jaws. She stood and slowly strutted behind the stoic Connor.

"You know when I came to him, back in Central America … he use to think you were asleep." Weaver slithered Sarah's arms around Ryan's. "But you weren't … sometimes at night when you lay in bed, you still hear them?" The cyborg grinned victoriously when Ryan's jaw tightened visibly. "You can still hear her little whimpers and gasps as he worked in her, her whispered strangled moan of his name when she came for him." Weaver gripped the worn leather of his jacket into balls in her hands and whispered a moan in Ryan's ear.

"John …"

CLICK

The sound of a pistol hammer being cocked back echoed and the feeling of a warm chrome barrel of a .45 pressed against her navel stopped the metal's monologue.

Ryan discreetly pressed the barrel of his side arm into Weaver with enough force to leave a bruise. "Your mind games don't work on me you terminator bitch … I'm not my father." He said with a ruthlessness that seemed to contradict his statement.

"It's only a matter of time …" the woman removed her body off him, but instead of backing away she walked around and pressed herself into his personal space. "You're a twenty seven year old disgraced Tech-Com officer who's lost the love of his life and is dealing with it in a bottle of alcohol." Weaver grinned at the parallels she was drawing as Ryan holstered his pistol. "Sounds a little familiar to me." She shrugged.

Ryan snatched the woman stealing his air by the neck with his cybernetic hand.

"I know the difference between loving someone and being love with someone … my old man didn't." There was a scared rage in his voice that he couldn't hide. Weaver pushed his hand off her.

"You might know today and maybe two weeks from now, but in several months when you're run ragged by all of Red Mask's plots and Skynet's legion of machines, close to your breaking point … I wonder when you'll start to lose that containment in your mind. And in your living hell you'll turn to your mission, because in the end it's all that you'll have left. Soon Sarah Connor will become your obsession … then sometime later" Weaver trailed off unfinished letting him soak in her words. "You'll start to justify the way you long to taste her … or what those satiny panties feel like under your palm when you're rubbing your fingers against her warmth …"

"That's enough!" Ryan stood, clamping his hand on Weavers chin. With a flash of cold hatred the machine once again shoved his hand off.

"You remember what I said … you rein in your lackey or I'll burn you and you're bastard A.I. to the ground." His voice had venom as he pointed at the woman aggressively.

"I'll be waiting …" she spoke with a cold and challenging voice. Then with out missing a beat she walked out of the room leaving Ryan standing in her wake with pure hatred.

"One more glass!" Ryan slammed the bar counter.

As he waited he tried to push what she said out of his head, but he couldn't ignore the parallels

Especially, today of all days.

* * *

"What can I get my mom that says sorry for being an ass?"

John walked through a sundry store looking at things that really didn't speak to his mother's personality.

"_I doubt they sell armor piercing rounds here." _

There was apart of John that wanted to buy Sarah something expansive, just to let her know that she was important, but then he remembered that his mother hated expansive things, something about his grandmother doing that to keep Sarah from telling anyone.

"_Whatever that means?" _

"This looks cute …" Riley held up a bust of a teddy bear in a fatigues. John snorted and took it from her and placed it back.

"Yeah, because when I think of my mom I think glitter and teddy bears." He sighed.

"Well, maybe if you would start pitching ideas instead of problems." She glared with a huff. There was a pause between them before anyone spoke. "Plus I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this …" she shrugged. "I personally don't see that you did anything wrong." She sniffed, fingering a crystal wine glass.

"I was being a dick … that's what I was doing." He sighed again figuring that maybe this might take a little more time than he thought.

"Well … I get why you would go to such lengths for your mom and all … but I don't get _**Cameron**_."

John acted as if he didn't hear that slight hitch in Riley's voice. It was something dangerous, something that went beyond a rivalry between teenage girls; it was the same pure hatred that Derek used when he was forced by John to address his protector by name.

"Because, I love her …"

"_Oh shit!"_

John less then subtly turned in alarm to Riley, who looked like she was about to puke on his shoes.

"Well, you know like I love my sister …"

"_Who are you!" _

"Because, she's my sister."

"_Shut up John!"_

There was an awkward pause as John poked at a shelf.

"Totally …" Riley nodded uncomfortably as well as with some anger at the conversation, which once again cued John in on something being off.

Riley's phone buzzed and she agitatedly pulled it out of her purse and read the text.

"John … I need to go … Kay's making cookies or some shit like that and I need to be there." she addressed him with contempt.

"Umm … I don't know where everybody is, but if you give me a moment I can call someone up and give you a ride." John dug into his pocket.

"No, I'll take a bus … or whatever." she walked away from him.

"Riley … whatever?" John pursued her out of the store.

"Yeah, John or whatever …" she stopped and sighed. "Just you know what, just spend the rest of the afternoon with your _Angel_ and forget about me … It's what you're best at!" she stormed off leaving John a little baffled at what just happened.

"_I think I just got whiplash from that mood swing?" _

John gave a confused frown. Something told him this was triggered by Cameron, but in hind sight what was wrong with what he said, from an outsiders perspective it was very common to hear someone say they love a sibling. He was sure that he had said he loved Sarah ten thousand times to people in passing and no one ever gave a second thought about it.

However he knew he needed to do something about the little slip up about Cameron. He had been holding it in for so long and keeping it buried that it was starting to pop out like a weed through concrete or worst, it starts coming out randomly in conversations.

"_Yeah mom I ordered the pizza we like and I love Cameron." _

"Damn"

John sighed and decided to go find his mom, before she started buying presents without him, still under the illusion that she somehow could magically buy gifts that weren't lame or in some nightmare cases insensitive.

His gaze turned to a little boy in a small aviator jacket in the arms of a girl who reminded John of Cameron. The little toddler had black curly hair and brown eyes and he was cracking up at something to which the girl was laughing at the little giggles as they got into the Santa Clause line. He smiled happily

He suddenly spotted the real Cameron sitting on the fat man dressed as Santa's lap and looked to be being coached to lick a candy cane in a very suggestive manner.

"THIS SHIT ISN'T HAPPENING TWICE!"

* * *

Sarah walked out of the row of glass doors to the front of the mall. When she got out she closed the collar on her coat at the bitter whip of wind that slapped her body harshly.

With a moment of looking she found Derek sitting on a plastic bench his hands in his jacket looking at the stone patterns on the floor. Sarah's face lightened and a small understanding face seemed to replace the worried one.

She walked up to him and loomed over his hunched form. Derek looked up and blinked at her.

"Hey" he grunted.

"Hey …" she lifted her eyebrow at the soldier. "What are you doing out here?" Sarah asked shivering slightly to make her point. Derek shrugged dishonestly and leaned back on the bench.

She glared knowingly, and after a beat she moved and sat down next to him. After a silence her teeth chattered loudly.

"You should go inside." He addressed her with a momentary look.

"When you do." Sarah shivered stubbornly, never being use to cold weather no matter where she went. Derek sighed at her comment and both traded looks.

Wordlessly Derek removed his hand from his pocket and placed an arm around her pulling her close to him. Sarah's general pride wouldn't have had any of this … but the appeal of the warmth coming off him was just too good to pass up.

She snuggled into him leaning her head onto the side of his chest. There was another long silence that both sat on the bench, sometimes getting smiles from people who seemed to mistake them as a married couple cuddling.

"I know why you won't go in there …" Sarah looked up at him. "Century … this is where you said the work camp is. Kyle told me that they systematically murder people in this place in the future." She finished searching his eyes for something.

"It's not just that … this is where they took him, after they ripped Kyle from me, this is where they forced him to shove bodies, human bodies into these large ovens … sometimes infants." His voice was caught on emotions a moment to which he cleared his throat.

Sarah looked down a moment, trying to respect his reputation by turning away from his teary eyes.

"My mom use to tell me, when I was little, before she went off to dance practice that Kyle was my responsibility that it was my job to look after him. But … this place is just a reminder that I let her and Kyle down." He sighed. "Sometimes I think that it should be Kyle here with you and that it should've been me that died in 1984 … If I had been there when it all went down in Topanga … I would have volunteered for the mission." He looked off to the distance.

"To protect Kyle?" she confirmed looking back up at him. Derek locked eyes with Sarah his hand stroked her rosy cheek.

"And you … I would die for both of you." He nodded.

There were no words that could recapture the feeling that seemed to over take her. Sarah knew the love for John that inspired such a claim from her, but to hear someone say that about her … she couldn't remember the last time anyone since Kyle had ever devoted their life to her like Derek had.

"Maybe you're here for a reason." She sat up and touched his face with both hands. "You, being here with us in the past, protecting John. Maybe that is your redemption, to protect Kyle's legacy?" Sarah ran a cold hand over his warm cheeks letting his stubble scratch her palm. "Maybe that's what we're meant to do together." Derek's eyes flashed at the secret truth to John's paternity, yet she told him causally, knowing that he knew already. Derek didn't ask.

Then they kissed again. This time both mutually went for another in that moment. Like before Sarah's words to him were perfect complement to the kiss that wasn't fiery or passionate, but simply brought on a feeling of completeness of the soul.

"You know there seems to be three constants in my life, Cam, Robots, guns, and Santa Clauses with wondering hands."

"It's a tough life."

Sarah and Derek came apart to and were startled to find a winded John panting with one hand in Cameron's the other on his knee. Both seemed not to notice the couple on the bench.

"John?" Sarah called.

At the voice both John and Cameron's let go of each others hands.

"Why hello there." Cameron said with an automated innocent voice that seemed to make her sound more suspicious. John shot her a glare and shook his head.

"What are you guys doing out here?" John asked looking from Derek to Sarah.

"Nothing … what are you doing out here?" Sarah said to quick for her to sound believable. John and Cameron shared a look.

"Nothing, Just … uh, needed some fresh air." John panted to which Cameron nodded with a serious frown.

There was an awkward silence as both couples tried to play it cool and not give their secret away to the other twosome.

Cameron bumped John and motioned to the door to which the teen cursed under his breath.

"We'll catch up with you guys at the truck!" John said with a nod before he took Cameron's hand and sprint off.

"Wait, where's Riley?" Sarah called, but the two disappeared into the parking lot. "Oh what the hell do I care?" she huffed after a moment. Derek lifted an eyebrow at her comment.

Just then three uniformed mall security guards rushed out and looked around the area, followed by a clean shaven fat man in a Santa suit with a busted nose.

* * *

In the late hours of the day the sun peaked out through the clouds bathing the last of its reddish glare of the dying winter's day.

The sound of the ocean crashed over the motorcycle engine as Ryan cruised over the sandy soil leaving a small trail behind him. He stopped in front of a small rusted metal barred gate that guarded a grassy field of plaques that had the date 1984 chiseled on the top.

Ryan skidded to an easy halt and shut the engine off. He put the stand down with the heel of his boot and removed his helmet. He stared blankly out at the unmarked graves from 25 years ago.

After silently hanging his helmet on the handle he dismounted and walked forward off the sand and onto the grass. He opened the gate and past through it with the accompaniment of a rusted squeal and bang when he let it go.

He stopped at the crest of the grassy hill and looked down on the hundreds of unmarked headstones in rows bellow.

He closed his eyes and let the cold wind sting his face before he sighed sadly.

"Hey … It's uh … it's me." He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry we haven't talked more but, I've been a little busy lately … I know that's no excuse coming from someone whose use to hate when your grams and grandfather gave the same excuses, but maybe I understand a little better now." Ryan chuckled with a sigh.

He let a long pause pass before he continued.

"I'm not sure if you're up there, since you technically haven't been born yet, but since your old man isn't an expert on heaven I guess there's hope." He gave a shaky breath. "I know we never met, but I think about you a lot, Cowboy, you and your mother." He nodded with a small tear running down his cheek. "Even though it may not seem like it from up there." he gave a shaky snort.

Ryan listened to the ocean crash a little as darkness started to settle over the setting.

"You know I keep thinking that maybe if I had been there when you were born, I could have done something. Or If I had known how truly sick your mom was I would never have left her when your grandpa called …" his voice cracked. "But I thought your great grandmother needed me … and you know how much your old man likes to play hero." Ryan looked down at his feet. "Well, I guess I've learned my lesson?" he looked up again with a bitter shake of his head.

He went silent again letting things roll around in his brain.

"Well … I guess I'll let you get back to your party … thanks for sparing a couple of minutes for your dad." He smiled sadly.

He sniffled and placed his hands in his pocket.

"Oh I almost forgot …" He pulled out a small wooden carved fighter plane that wasn't painted. "I had been meaning to give this to you for awhile." Ryan placed it in the grass. "I'll let your great grandpa give it to you …" He nodded.

He lowered his head for a moment.

"Give a kiss to you momma and everyone else for me and tell them that the way things are going down here … It won't be much longer." He cleared his throat. "They'll know what I mean." He smirked sadly. He lingered a moment longer and looked up at the sky.

"Well I guess this is goodbye, but only for a little while …"

He consoled with a hard sniffle and with his thumb he cleared his stream of tears out of his right eye.

"Happy birthday, Cowboy."

* * *

The inside of the Connor home that night was alive with Christmas lights, decorations, outside lights, a Santa and his reindeer display, and reefs, Lots and lots of reefs.

"The previous family has a hard on for Christmas."

John snorted at Cameron's almost bitter sounding comment to which he was sure she had no idea what it meant.

"What the hell happened!" Sarah asked as she and Derek came down the stairs with boxes to find Cameron completely wrapped in Christmas lights.

"You now, I've spent the last five minutes pondering that same question?" John chewed on some spearmint gum, trying figure where the streams of lights started.

"Me too" Cameron chimed in standing with her arms out.

Derek set his box down on the couch and snorted at the sight of the girl.

"I say we forgo a tree and just toss some decorations on the metal, she's already lit." he scratched his stubble.

Sarah and John grinned lightly at the comment while Cameron just tilted her head.

"I would be a good lawn decoration." She commented to John who was walking around her untangling one of the four strands.

"I don't know … angel's usually go on top of the tree." He grinned cheekily stopping a moment. Cameron smiled warmly at his comment.

Derek rolled his eyes to the sky and Sarah wrinkled her nose at the statement. John looked at his parental figures reaction.

"What?" He glared. Sarah and Derek exchanged looks before going back to John.

"We were just in awe at the smoothness of the line." Derek said sarcastically.

"I liked it." Cameron replied once again with a smile just for John. The teen grinned and pointed to the girl as if it was giving him validation.

"Don't encourage him." Sarah huffed playfully ruffling her son's hair as she padded by in socks to the front door.

"Hey mom, my phone has a problem." John looked up from is squatting position untangling the cord at Cameron's feet.

Sarah frowned at the comment and fixed John with a worried stare.

"What is it?" she asked pulling her boots on.

"Your number isn't in it." He grinned.

"What do you mean? My number was the first programmed …" she was jogging her memory until she saw his cheesy wiggle of his eyebrows at her. Sarah crossed her arms and had a stupid grin on her face.

"Did that come out as smooth as it felt?" she asked.

"I liked it." Cameron said to which John winked and pointed to Cameron again. Sarah glowered at their almost automated response.

"John, go take the professor upstairs and untangle her." She called more than amused at her boy's good mood as she opened the front door and stepped out.

"You complete me!"

* * *

What started out with jokes and some laughing from John turned into silence as the young man traced lines on Cameron's skin. She sat on his bed next to a pile of untangled lights watching John intently as his hand smoothed some of the tight reddened indentions on her smooth skin.

He couldn't help himself, it looked painful and even though she had told him a million times that she didn't register pain the way human's did, he still felt the need to massage the little bite marks on her shoulders, plus Cameron wasn't protesting.

Both were silently excepting the contact, knowing that words could possibly ruin the intiment closeness that they found themselves in.

After a moment, John realized that he was just now randomly stroking Cameron's bare stomach while she watched him, laying down on his to small bed. He found himself feeling no better then the perverted Santa.

"Well I guess that's it … you're untangled." He announced, giving one last rub of his thumb to her navel to which she smiled contently. He cleared his throat at her reaction and moved his hand to his propped up knee. "Just … uh remember next time when your untangling lights try to keep track of them." he laughed.

Cameron nodded and then when it occurred to her that John wasn't going to restart her favorite form of his affection she pulled down her tank top hem and sat up.

Both teen's faces were inches apart as they sat on the small bed.

John wanted to kiss Cameron, he wanted to take her in his arms and connect himself to her. He wanted to show her how much he loved her. But she had boundaries that she had set down, there was a line in the sand that she had drawn that was meant for his protection, so she said. Though he would like nothing better than to ignore it, he respected her position however misguided it was.

"Thank you" Cameron gave a ghost of a smile and gave him a peck on the cheek. John closed his eyes as if her lips where scolding hot. He let it pass while she stood and went for the door.

"Cameron …" John called with a heavy breath. She stooped and turned toward him.

"Yes"

There was a look of fright to her, as if she was hoping that he wouldn't open old wounds by bring up the terms of there arrangement, not to pursue her, nor her him.

"Look … I know about these rules you put between us." He started, getting to his feet.

"John …" she tried to cut him off but he put his hand up.

"I'm not going to argue with you … not tonight." He assured her. "But, I got to say this before it drives me crazy." He sighed nervously.

Cameron blinked and waited in anticipation.

"I don't know how to build up to this other than to just say … I love you." He shrugged. "I've loved you since the first time we met in New Mexico even when I found out who you were, even when you were hunting me downtown on my birthday I couldn't stop it. All this with Riley it … I couldn't change these feelings for you." When John was done he felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

There was a thoughtful pause in the room as he watched the angelic girl try to sort through what he had said.

"Tell me I'm crazy … but I know you feel the same way." He laughed at the thought that he must be crazy, because there was the very real possibility that he was projecting her programming as feelings.

"No, you're not crazy." Cameron said with an innocent almost sad voice. "I'm not familiar with human emotions so I'm not able to explain the intricacies of how my mind works." She frowned. "But, you are my whole world … I can't see myself without you." She looked at John with a flash of emotions. "Without you my life has no meaning."

John looked to the floor and cleared his throat of emotion as she opened door. Once she was in the hallway she turned to look at him.

"John …"

He looked up at her.

"There are rules because … I can't live without you."

Cameron looked as if she let something slip she hadn't meant to.

When she shut the door she left John alone with his own pained devices.

* * *

The night air was appealing to Sarah who walked outside the house into the dark front porch.

Strolling out to the landing of the second staircase, she looked up at the millions of stars that twinkle out over the peaceful night. A small smile graced her beautiful face as she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the distant city below, mixed with the sound of crickets by the nature trail near the house.

There was a small thud from inside the shed that caught Sarah's attention. Opening her eyes she turned to her destination to find the light on under the crack of the door. She almost went back into the house to grab the shotgun when she noticed Ryan's black racing motorcycle near by.

She was a little surprised at his appearance, since their conflict with the nut job who was claiming her as his property; she hadn't seen the soldier more than once, though she knew that he had been around here and there over the last week.

She tiled her head and wrapped her arms around her. She pondered why she suddenly cared that the officer was out in the cold and not inside, nor could she fathom why she was worried that he might be injured and need help.

With an interest grin she walked toward the shed.

* * *

Ryan stood over the wooden work table, hunched over looking at scattered photos and files of mental patients mixed in with security screen captures of the Red Mask stealing Military grade weapons from some long forgotten depot.

Millions of questions ran through his brain … to many faces and lives to fit into the equation. Ryan wasn't sure if he was chasing smoke signals in the dark or if he was chasing his tail, justifying his need for answers with farfetched ideas.

He turned and looked at a picture of the petite red helmeted killer.

"What are you planning?" he asked out loud.

The shed door opened, letting a cold breeze shift the papers on the desk.

"Sorry …" Sarah apologized and shut the door quickly.

Ryan didn't look at her as he turned his gaze to a set of Blue prints tacked onto the wall of the shed.

Sarah crossed her arms and looked at the two layouts near the window.

One had a name and date scribbled on the front.

**PESCADERO ASYLUM, CIRCA 1922**

The second had a similar title and date.

**PESCADERO STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL, CIRCA 2001**

On the recent Blue print there were red strings tied to the thumb tacks that created a replica of the perimeter of the old asylum, also there was a collection of bage thumb tacks scattered on the map like they were pinpointing people's locations.

"What's all this?" she asked looking at the random pictures of buildings and faces tapped and tacked to the wall.

"Leads on your bloody names … and the red mask." He answered gruffly.

Sarah observed the man's tired frame that had several injuries that should be addressed.

"We're uh … putting up some decorations for Christmas and ordering some pizza, you're more than welcome to join us …" she tried to put some food in front of him to get a positive answer.

"No" he snapped with his back still to her.

She was taken back at the harshness and growl to the voice as if she was interrupting something that was life or death.

There was a pause before the soldier sighed and bowed his head wearily.

"I'm sorry …" he cleared his throat. "Thank you for the offer, but I gotta figure this out." He turned his hard brown eyes to look at her. She felt a twinge of guilt at the look of tiredness that seemed to over take him.

"Any progress?" Sarah walked up to him taking the spot across from him shuffling through the papers causally looking at worthless physic evaluations she knew all to well.

"Just names and theories." He crossed his arms.

Sarah came across a list of high level military grade explosives.

"That's one hell of a list for Santa …" Sarah held up the piece of paper. Ryan grinned at her comment.

"Red Mask stole a several boxes worth this morning." He answered pointing to a screencap of the girl in question loading boxes into a storage truck.

"There's a lot you could do with this." Sarah secretly felt envious of the killer for having better toys to play with than her.

"Well whatever it is … Pescadero's her target." he sighed thoughtfully. "She's been smuggling weapons in there for a week now." He turned back to the blue prints.

It took Sarah a moment to realize that the red stringed perimeter was the foundation of the old building, if that collapsed the whole hospital would go.

"You think that she's going to bring the entire hospital down?" she asked.

"_Does she need any help?" _

"It's a possibility … Pescadero is a Skynet laboratory." He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

There was a part of Sarah that wasn't surprised by that. In her three years of hell she couldn't find a fitting place that could bring the sterile uncaring of the machine and the twisted mind's of the human race together then in that place.

"If she's working against Skynet … then why would she want to kill me?" she asked out loud.

"I don't know … I just don't know." Ryan's head lolled tiredly.

Sarah sighed and the maternal instincts kicked into high gear.

"Hey maybe a break would do you some good … a shift in prospective." She offered walking over and placing a comforting hand on his back. The man shook his head and rubbed his left eye.

"I feel like I'm running out of time here." He sounded resolved despite his demeanor.

Sarah twitched her face with disapproval, but didn't press the matter and walked toward the door to which he escorted her.

When they reached the door he opened it for her to which she stepped out into the cold. Before going she turned to face him.

"This thing with this Red …?" Sarah tilted her head with a mock playful look that made Ryan smile.

"Mask, Red Mask." He corrected her.

"Right … this rivalry with the Red Mask is this personal or purely fascination?" she leaned on the frame.

Ryan looked to his toes in thought a moment using his weight on the door.

"Personal …" he looked up at her with phantom indignation.

Though strongly believing in letting things be there was a part of her that was wanting to know what it was about this strange almost comic book like assassin that had the future soldier so driven to stop her.

"Why … what did she do?" Sarah asked despite herself.

The young man shifted in more clear sign of anger.

"She tried to kill you … twice." He looked her in the eye with a protectiveness that made Sarah feel a maternal spread of warmth.

There was a pause before Ryan was launched into deep pensiveness, griping his chin with his thumb and an arched index finger.

"And I want to know why."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

**So like I said this was deeply psychological and dark and let me tell you folks it's only going to get more the same as this story moves along. **

**Before I get the flames I will try to explain this if you didn't get it from the story. Ryan is not in love with Sarah … I repeat Ryan is not in love with Sarah. The situation that Weaver is forcing Ryan in is that of obsession. The idea that he will become so worn down mentally and physically that he'll start to lose prospective on everything he holds dear and become obsessed with his mission which in turn is Sarah. **

**So my plan in general is for everyone to buy into Jameron and Sarah/Derek.**

**If you didn't like the psychological stuff in this than I hope you enjoyed the story from what you read, because this is probably the last humorous chapter. **


	11. Tales from the Mad House, part 1

**So this will be like the Halloween party and is going to be broken into two parts. **

**Warning like before this one will be disturbing just from the psychological perspective of being in a Mental Hospital for the criminally insane. So you have been warned!**

**Tales from the Mad House, Part 1**

The blinding sunlight of the last of the afternoon gave the mostly bland sterile hallway of Pescadero Mental Hospital for the criminally insane, an orange tint to its emotionless white hue.

With purposeful clacking, patrol boots belonging to a LAPD officer silenced the muffled shrieks and incessant babbling of the prisoners in their cells thrashing about like wild animals. Others pressed their faces to the glass watching the hallway with sharp crazed eyes. Some looked just to catch a glimpse of the outside world, others because they feared that the government or aliens (some were of the opinion they are one in the same.) would come for them if they didn't keep a more watchful eye.

The police woman didn't pay any mind as she casually strolled from her former destination, the broom closet in section 5 to the therapy rooms, where the doctors held their sessions in attempts to *cure* their patients of the mental inflictions that caused the murder of entire families and the voices that encourage them to blow away government buildings.

Her walk was effortless and purposeful like a horse. Her hair was tucked into an elegant bun and her otherwise angelic face was covered by an eye patch.

After a short elevator ride she exited the lift into a hallway of doors each where evenly spaced and grouped together in twos.

She walked causally forward till she stopped in front of a door guarded by two staff members in white polo shirts and slacks, which offset with there black nightsticks.

"your presence is flattering, but unneeded gentleman …" the young woman had a sweet innocence to her voice that made the two security guards smile at the clear naivety of the attractive girl in front of them.

"Sorry, officer … Wardens order, we're suppose to have an eye on this patient on all times. The "Doc" has been acting up since he got here, encouraging riots and other bullshit amongst the patients.

"I understand … but you must understand that I have to ask both of you to stay were you are, this is a matter of police business." She smiled softly.

"Whatever you say, baby girl." The older lead guard winked at her. She nodded and reached for the door.

"Hey what happened to your eye?" the younger of the two blurted out at her, afterward he received a forceful nudge from his superior.

The girl opened the door to the darkened interrogation room.

"I gave it to my son, when I gouged his out." She answered with a pleasant smile and walked inside, leaving the guards pondering if she was making a joke.

The Inside of the room was dark with the windows reflecting a strange purple hue of the dying day onto a heavy metallic table.

The girl walked in and spotted a short older man with medium length thinned silver hair and crazed eyes.

"Good evening Doctor Silberman …" she greeted the figure with a sweet smile. The man clicked at her.

"Please don't call me that name … I'm the Sheppard rounding up the lost sheep of the prophet into the flock." He reprimanded her.

"Yes, I've heard that you've been recruiting inmates …" she sat in the metal seat.

"I've not been "Recruiting" them." he said with disgust. "I've merrily been gathering the faithful and believers for the day when we shall smite the enemy of our prophet." He lectured her sitting in the chair.

"Warden Waller says that your tenured insight into the criminal mind has given you the ability to prey on the patients mental states here, preaching during parlor time. She says that your sermons often times leads to revolts." She tilted her head.

"What can I say?" he shrugged with prideful humility. "The word of Sarah Connor our holy mother has a strong resonance with the residents of this establishment that breeds the fruits of the evils of our enemy." His smile was crazed and there was something devout and dangerous in his eyes at the mention of the name.

"You're aware of the Skynet facility in the basement?" she asked.

"Yes, very much so." There was a righteous fervor to his angry tone. The girl leaned into the table to address the man quietly.

"What if I told you I have the means to let you do something about it?"

* * *

Cameron sat silently at one of the collections of wooden tables in the cramped public library. In front of her sat a box that wasn't addressed to her.

She didn't feel to guilty stealing Sarah's mail, but since it was addressed to Sarah Connor and not Sarah Baum and it was set on the step of the back door and not at the front, Cameron deemed as head of family security that she should analyze it before giving it to its rightful owner.

"Hey … you're early."

A young man with curly blond hair and a patchy beard in a wheel chair rolled up to her. She smiled at him.

"No doughnuts tonight?" Eric joked, looking at the postage box in front of her.

Cameron shook her head.

"I'm sorry … I was waiting on someone here, since before closing time … I hid in the bathroom during Joyce's last sweep." She explained. "If I had known that I was going to be here this long I would have brought some." There was a small hint of apology to her voice.

"It's alright …" he chuckled. "I'm not that hungry tonight anyway." He sighed. Cameron tilted her head in interest at his comment. Feeling a little nervous at the cold analyzing stare he was getting from the girl he cleared his throat.

"So … You're friend never showed?" he wheeled to the opposite side of the table to face his friend. Cameron shrugged.

"He will …" she assured him.

There was a jealous frown that played across the young man's face as he learned that she was waiting on a male.

"So you were meeting a guy here." He tried to sound casual as he opened his book on enlightened age Russia.

"Yes" she caught the strained tone of his voice. "Does that displease you?" Cameron asked confused at the hidden tone.

Eric looked flustered at her questions and cleared his throat.

"No … no, no, no … I was just miffed because …" he took a nervous pause. "What Jerk could stand up a beautiful girl like you?" he finished with a shaky smile that Cameron returned.

"A busy one …"

A deep voice echoed to the couple from the shadows of one of the rows of book shelves. Turning their heads, Ryan came out of the shadows. The handsome man had deep black circles under his eyes, which one couldn't tell if it was from a lack of sleep or from a fist of a random thug working for Skynet or a killing machine working for the former.

Cameron stood as he approached. He gave a lightened look to the beautiful girl as if her appearance was a shine of sunlight in the eye of a hurricane.

"You can't imagine what it feels like to see you right now …" he chuckled tiredly enveloping her in a hug, burying his head into her curled hair in childlike comfort. The cyborg stood awkwardly, not sure what the appropriate response to this was. When the soldier didn't feel her mold into the loving hug Ryan cleared his throat and released her waist. "Sorry old habits …anyway you said it was important." he said awkwardly and placed his hands in his leather jacket pockets.

"It's alright … and yes." she commented, feeling as if she might have missed a chance to connect to apart of her future that seemed to be avoiding her.

Eric sat watching the two with suspicion, seeing as how the man seemed a little more than a decade older than Cameron, though they seemed to have a similar face that made him think they must be close family.

"How did you get in here?" He asked rolling toward them. "I locked the doors …" he admitted.

"Place has windows … lots of them." Ryan shrugged standing next to Cameron.

"I hope this doesn't bother you." Cameron followed on her future child's comment.

There were a lot of things that Eric would like to say bothered him about the situation, but it seemed as if he could never say no to the girl.

"No … I guess not." He huffed giving Ryan a once over as if trying to measure him up. The soldier lifted an eyebrow at the younger man.

Cameron opened the box and was about to extract the item when she stopped and both future Connor's looked at the wheel chair ridden man.

"Hey hot rod … don't you have some books to stack or something?" Ryan asked with an arrogant and annoyed tone at the lingering grad student. Cameron shot her counter part a chastising glare.

"Eric can you please give us a moment in private?" she asked with an apologetic tone for the insensitive comment the captain made about the physically impaired man.

The cripple bit back on his anger, remembering the dismissive and abusive tone that was often taken with him during his time in high school by jocks.

"Yeah I can do that …" he growled and pushed himself away from them, commenting under his breath about losing another Cheerleader to the jerk.

There was a pause between the two as they watched him disappear into the reference section.

"Weird guy …" Ryan turned back to his mother with a half smirk; it however disappeared at the sight of the girl with a look of displeasure. "What?" he half chuckled.

"I wish you wouldn't put down and insult him …" she addressed Ryan with a pleading voice. "He's my only friend … I don't wish to lose him." There was an almost sad look on her face that caused Ryan's heart to flinch.

"Alright …" he said with a quiet and guilty tone. She smiled softly at her word being uncontested by him.

After they shared a nod Cameron reached back into the box and pulled out a musty smelling white straight jacket that was clearly designed for a woman and the reinforced padding showed signs that whoever it was meant for could be violent.

"This came for Sarah … I know what it is, but I don't know what it's implying?" Cameron held it aloft for the soldier to examine it. He motioned her to give it to him.

"It's the one they use to force Sarah in when she was locked up." He examined the older looking piece of restring clothing. Cameron tilted her head.

"How do you know?" she asked with interest. He motioned to the black spray painted numbers at the hem of the outer wear.

"I read her file and remembered her patient number." He said off handedly, turning the article of clothing over and over in his hands.

Cameron looked at it with a hard glare giving it a scan.

:"I don't understand what it's suppose to mean other then to taunt or remind Sarah of her time away from John." She glowered with an emotional face that Ryan was sure she didn't know she was making.

"It's a clue to other a trap or to … well another clue." He replied placing it on the table.

"How do you figure?" Cameron was fully intrigued by this idea. Ryan snorted at the child like innocence of curiosity that he couldn't help but love about her.

"Well …" he sighed and crossed his arms. "The straight jacket mean's Pescadero …" He scratched his chin and studied the jacket.

"Obviously …" there was a tone of impatience in Cameron's voice that gave a tug at the corners of the soldier's lips.

"But if you look at the straps they're stapled instead of strung, and not only that they're office staples, which means the clue is an office, and most likely the Warden's office." He breathed tiredly.

"So the clue … or trap is in the warden's office at Pescadero." The cyborg concluded. Ryan shrugged at her hypothesis of his reasoning.

"It's what I get from it." he widened his eyes at her playfully in a way that Cameron has seen Sarah do a million times which made her wonder if it was an inherited tick.

"I should purse it." she claimed stuffing the straight jacket back in the box neatly. Ryan gripped her arm lightly.

"I?" he said with a doubtful voice. Cameron frowned at the rhetorical question she didn't pick up on.

"Yes, I should pursue this lead … it's what is entailed in my job requirement as head of security." She deadpanned.

"No … I'll follow this one up, I've been working this angle for several months now I wouldn't mind taking a crack at closing this down once and for all." He said with a gruff to his voice that made him sound more vengeful then clear thinking. After a beat he caught on to his actions and sighed calmly. "Plus …" he brushed some hair behind her ear lazily. "It could be nothing." He tried to smile to sell his point.

"You could be wrong?" Cameron turned her head slightly at the concept that they just could be grasping at nothing. Ryan chuckle amusingly.

"It's been known to happen once in a blue moon." He grinned roughly.

There was a silence of finality between them, before Ryan moved again and wrapped the girl in tight embrace. This time Cameron molded to it like she had seen John and Sarah do on occasion by wrapping her arms around his neck. It was nice and warm feeling to be hugged by the right person and Cameron concluded that in some circumstances this might even be comforting, which was now why she understood why human's did it.

"It could be nothing?" she repeated to make sure he was sure about what he was about to embark on. He gave her one last tight squeeze. Then he released her waist.

"It could be nothing …" he gave her cheek a stroke and reassured her again. It sometimes surprised Ryan just how good of a liar he could be. Both nodded and Ryan removed his hand and gave a deep breath. "Keep an eye out on things …" he patted her waist and walked toward the exit.

Just as Ryan was leaving, Eric rolled back in wearing a sweater over his double layered clothing.

"Hey, remember to make a pit stop after every thirty laps okay hot wheels."

"Screw you, you arrogant dick!"

* * *

"_No one believes me …" _

_In the cold therapy room that looked strangely like a interrogation room a beautiful young woman lay her weary head on the even colder metal table. Her long sleek curls splayed on the table where shined with lingering beads of sweat from her twice daily work out in her cell. _

"_Well, Sarah if there were machines from the future wouldn't there be any proof?" the intellectually arrogant, yet always sympathetic voice of Dr. Silberman echoed to the hopeless woman. _

_Sarah looked up, her green eyes dazed from the drugs they forced her to take before coming to these spectacles. She turned to the mirror behind Silberman. Through her white tank top and aqua scrub pants of her reflection she knew that there was a gaggle of medical students watching behind it, taking meticulous notes like little kids at the zoo clutching there ticket stubs with excitement to see a dangerous predator of the jungle up close._

_Just like the animal she felt kinship to, Sarah felt trapped and beaten, deprived of her freedom and thing that make her who she was, her cub. _

_It was only a week ago that she was informed by the smug bastard across from her that they had finally caught John somewhere nearby. He was sneaking around stealing the blue prints for the infrastructure of Pescadero, ripping off ATM machines and showering at a local university community bath. _

"_Well Sarah I guess that concludes today …" He turned to the mirror. "Stop recording" he announced. "Everyone meet me in the conference room." he announced. _

_The young woman sat alone at the table, while the older man shuffles his notes into his brief case. She glared as she watched him; most shrinks would have guards stand inside while they were alone with a prisoner, but not Silberman, he was everyone's friend, your knight in shining armor from the mean guards. Sarah didn't buy the act she was smart enough to know that it was a classic good cop, bad cop routine that was imposed to farther treatment of the monsters around her. _

"_I want to see John." She said to him desperately, the drugs making her say things in ways that weren't her. Silberman smiled at her as if she was a little girl who wanted a pony. _

"_Sarah … I don't think you're ready for that, especially after you broke Debra's nose." All he had to do to complete the condensation was to pat her on the head and give her a sticker. _

"_That sick bitch tried to rape me with her night stick in the showers!" she said with outrage of not only the facts that no one wanted to believe, but that Silberman just smiled at her claim. _

"_Sarah I know you need an outlet for the violence in you, but taking it out on the guards isn't the answer." He sat down on the side of the table near her and smiled that sickening smile full of kindness and care. _

"_Please, John needs me, without me there's no where that's safe for him, no where but in my arms." Sarah tried the sympathy card. Then in that moment, Sarah saw it._

_The first sign of corruption in the infallible Thomas Silberman, her plea's of hopelessness and need brought a burning light of sadism and lust in his eyes. Though it was slight it was a small personal victory for her to finally find something grueling and ugly in the man that exposed the power hungry attention seeker she wanted the world to see, but most importantly she wanted him to see. _

"_John shouldn't be exposed to the kind of madness that Kyle … exposed to you, that broke you." There was a distance in his voice that sounded as if he was outing his inner thoughts into a monologue. _

_Sarah wanted him to pay for the last two and half years, for making people believe that Kyle, "Her Soldier" had broken her down psychologically and brainwashed her into his occult thinking of machines and Judgment day. She had over heard him tell his students that he wished he could have gotten to the Young teenage beauty from the psychotic criminal Kyle Reese before he gave the gentle rose her poisonous thorns. She wondered if he even remembered that he walked out of the building before the 101 attacked the station and that she saw him hiding in his car before they escaped, or had he told that story so many times he had started to believe it himself._

"_Please … Please, I'm begging you, I'll do anything." Sarah knew she had him where she wanted. The doctor looked at her and reached out and gently rubbed his thumb on her lower lip. _

"_You were so beautiful when I first saw you … like a rose … oh, Sarah what a woman you could you've been if you hadn't been plucked from the field of innocence and withered in the waterless climate of madness?" he monologued, looking in her eyes with a crazed haze that made Sarah wonder if it was too cliché to wonder if the nuts really were running the nut house. _

"_Please …" she whispered a faked gasp as he stroked her neck with both hands. "Convince the board to let me see John and I'll let you prick your finger and show you that I have no poison in me." She added fake tears to suck him in. _

"_Tonight …" he whispered in her ear and started to nibbled a little. _

_Sarah smiled because after two and a half years she was back in the driver's seat. _

* * *

"Mom!"

Sarah snapped out of her walking nightmare and was back sitting at the dinning room table with the tacked map of her very own nine circles of hell spread in front of her.

John was leaning forward on the table in a black T-Shirt under a black fatigue button down and pants. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Derek in a blue doctor's scrub shirt looming over her.

"Sarah, you here?" he asked quietly. He knew that what they were about to do was extremely dangerous and just like with Century City Mall for him, the return to Pescadero would be just as hard for Sarah to step inside.

"I'm here Reese …" she said sternly shrugging off his comforting hand on her aqua scrub top. "Just run that by me one more time." she nodded to John.

The young man hadn't wanted to do this, it had been out of the blue several days ago when Sarah came up to him and said that she wanted to level Pescadero's research center that was now serving Skynet's dark purposes. John was surprised and a little shocked; he hadn't heard his mother utter the name of the asylum for five long years.

He had been skeptical from the beginning of her claims, seeing that sometimes under stress or deep emotional pressure his mom would go on dangerous tangent like missions that sometimes made no sense. When she showed him her proof he was still skeptical, but not because he still didn't believe her, but because she was stealing her Intel from Ryan who had marked on the map and had things pegged. He would have asked his future officer what everything was, but apparently it was suppose to be a secret just between the two of them until everything was planned out.

"One more time …" he looked annoyed. "To have any sort of lab there has to be two area's, the lab it self and the place where they keep the research." He clicked his pen while Sarah chewed on the info. "So, in the stuff that Ryan stole, that we in turn stole from him, there was an Id badge which I copied for all four of us." John passed out the fake laminated ID's to Derek and Sarah with their picture and information on the side of a bar code.

"John, why do you have a mustache?" Sarah looked over at her son's identification card. The teen shrugged.

"Sort of a photo shop error and I ran with it." he shrugged. Sarah smirked while Derek just shook his head.

"Now these will give us access to the lab stuff, but probably not through the front door so that's why me and Cameron, when she gets back, will be posing as Security guards that are escorting Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Baum inside to start their fist shift at the hospital." He smiled at the two of them as if a little kid teasing the boy and girl in class that liked each other.

"If your ID's are as fake as ours then what makes you think that you'll get in if the guy at the front gate doesn't recognize you" Derek quirked an eyebrow with his question.

"Well … me and Cameron are already in the system and start our shift in an hour and half." There was a cheesy hacker smile on the teens face as he continued to one up his uncle.

"And the explosives that are going to be stuffed in out Change of clothing duffle bags?" Sarah asked.

"Did I mention that we're working security at the metal detectors?" he asked casually.

A proud and satisfied grin broke on Sarah's face, it was something that made John smile triumphantly, but it was quickly lessened when he saw Derek seem to give him a passive look that said that he was not surprised, as if it was something that was expected of John. However there was obedience to his uncle's stare that made John feel in complete control of the mission, which scared him.

The front door opened and closed, revealing Cameron walking in with a white box in hand.

"Fill girlie in …" Sarah ran a hand through John's hair as she passed, while Derek followed in step giving a slap to John's shoulder for the heck of it before exiting out of the dinning room. Cameron frowned in confusion at their scrubs.

"What's in the box?" John asked the girl who placed it on the table.

"Doughnuts …" she opened the box to reveal different flavored glazed treats.

"Awesome … victory snacks." He commented brightly looking over the pastries as if making dibs on his when he got back.

"Where are we going?" Cameron gave a good look at the blue print on the table.

"Close you're eyes and hold out your hands, I'm going to give you a present." he ordered, Cameron did as directed, while John bent down and picked something off the floor. He placed an item in her hands and smiled.

"Open them …" he said folding his arms. Cameron did so to find an all black baseball cap with the words Security emblazoned on it in deep yellow.

Cameron weighed it in her hands and observed it thoroughly and then smiled gratefully.

"It's a tight present John, I like the color and it states my job on it … I'll wear it when I go on patrol tonight." She innocently placed the cap on her head and slouched it like she had seen on television.

John laughed at her response, which caused her to tilt her head just a little in confusion.

"I bet if I got you a soda can you would find something about it to like …" he chuckled.

"Soda's are tasty." She agreed. John snickered.

"It's a joke …" he smiled affectionately. "The reason I gave you that is because we're going to go ahead and infiltrate Pescadero tonight."

When Cameron heard the name her face went blank a moment as if she had been shocked with a revelation of some sort.

"Something wrong …?" John lightly touched her shoulder. She turned at the touch and then smiled innocently at him as if she hadn't a worry in the world.

"It could be nothing."

* * *

Ray Parker walked out of the security staff locker room restroom accompanied by the sound of the flushing of a toilet. While he washed his hands he could hear distant screams of the patients a late night ritual that the security officer of only three months still hadn't gotten use to yet.

He on more of a mental level was grateful that he got to work outside all night and not inside. Parker would take the biting cold Southern California nights, then have to hear the caterwauling of the states worst psychotic killers all night.

After drying his hands on his Black fatigues, he walked into the night and made his way around the front to his station near the metal detector where he would gratefully be relieved by some John and Cameron Gale.

As he reached the locked double door entrance he turned with a sigh at the still quiet of the full harvest moon night and looked out at the main front gate of the barbwire fenced complex.

"What the hell?"

He gasped when saw that the guard station light off and the gate wide open. Reaching for his belt he pulled his walkie talkie. "Yo Gary … wake up man." He called to the old man that was near retirement on the other line of the frequency.

He paused when he got the echo of his voice on the other talkie near by. He frowned and neared the sound of the crackling of the frequency from a cove near some bushes by the building. When he reached the parallel crackle he saw Gary's walkie standing straight up in the middle of the street.

"What …?" he scratched his head just before a figure from the shadow of the building silently moved into the moonlight behind him.

A well placed punched to the man's kidney caused Parker to choke in pain, before the stranger snatched the guard by the neck from the front and turned as he pulled him down. With an iron grip, the assailant exerted pressure on the man's arties knocking him unconscious. Once out, the shadow snapped the clearance badge off the pocket of the man.

"Thanks …" Ryan waved it in front of Parker's face and stood up straight and walked to the locked double doors. Reaching the panel he slide the badge into the little access panel. There was a loud clunk as the door's unlocked automatedly. When there was a positive chirp, Ryan pushed the door open with his .45 drawn. He was however interested to find that there was no one else guarding the entrance.

In fact the entire main entrance was abandoned. Ryan turned up word to the security camera to find that the red light was completely off and the visual devise in was unmoving.

"Someone's cleared the way …" Ryan muttered as he cautiously walked down the colorless hallway and through the disabled metal detector. Reaching the head of the T like hallway he found an empty information desk that had a sign above it with names and arrows.

He followed the arrow that said administration.

It led him to a frosted over glass double doors. With another swipe of Parker's card into the access panel the doors clicked and slid open. The room behind the door was large, with two desks with computers that where running fish tank screen savers. The office was definitely different than the rest of the building. There was a rugged carpet and wooden paneling with desk lamps bathing the room in dim light.

On right side of the room sat a wooden door with a frosted glass window that said Chief of Staff While across on the left with an exact same door that said Warden. Ryan tried the door to the left walking slowly and indirectly.

From the glass door there was glow of fire from inside the office.

Not wasting anytime Ryan kicked open the door to find that the roaring fire was in fact contained in a fireplace. The entire office looked like a classic study from a house, with shelves of books on the wall and a painting of an African king over the fireplace.

"When Skynet remodels it sure doesn't spare expenses." The soldier commented out loud studying the office. With the flickering fire being the only light, Ryan had to navigate through the twisted shadows.

Feeling annoyed at the lack of light, but not wanting to flip any switches Ryan activated his cybernetic eye, which wired to life with a blue glow for a moment. Through night vision scan he saw a human body slumped over a large desk.

Carefully the officer inched his way to the desk where he found the body of a plump black woman in a blue business suite that looked pale and there was a decaying smell coming off her.

"Warden, Waller" he greeted sarcastically scanning the body for any booby traps. When she was clean he lifted an eyebrow. "Dead all day from the smell of you" he commented, examining the body. That's when he noticed a note gripped lightly in her hand as if it was placed there after she was killed.

Picking out of her grip he opened the note.

**I Robot **

"Huh …" Ryan gripped his chin a moment in thought before staring at the book shelf.

"_Sounds like a book title." _

With a buzzed rotation of his pupil he scanned the book shelves for titles and after a moment founded it.

_**I, Robot by Asimov **_

He marched carefully over and pulled out the book. He flipped through the dusty pages a moment till he noticed a red button inside it.

"This is other going to be really stupid of me or … yeah stupid." He cleared his throat and punched the red button.

There was a grinding noise and the fire disappeared bathing the windowless office in pitch black. Switching to infra-red he noticed that there was a ladder leading down to were the fire use to be. Ryan looked at the entrance, then the book.

"And who said machines don't have sense of humor?"

* * *

"_Oh, Sarah …" _

"_Beautiful Sarah …" _

_Silberman was like clock work after a week of conjugal visits in the middle of the night. Sarah was on all four gritting her teeth as the doctor gripped her sides, pounding into her._

_She didn't feel ashamed of what she was doing; it was Silberman that was the shameful party. What he was doing was unethical and she would cash in on his shame of taking advantage of her and abusing his authority by getting to see her boy. To just be able to touch John's hair again, just to know that he was alive and healthy made these perverse nights all worth it in the end. _

"_Sarah!" He muffled her name as he buried his face in her soaked curly hair as he climaxed. His added weight collapsed Sarah, making her fall flat on her front taking him with her. _

_remaining on top of her, both lay silently, panting for breath as Silberman's moist hands stroked her naked waist as he nuzzled the side of her head. _

"_I feel like your apart of me." He whispered kissing her cheek. Sarah didn't respond to his claim. "Like you've been sent to me, to save myself from a dead end career …" he sighed into her tender cheek. "And dead end marriage." he wrapped his arms around her, has fingers meeting at her navel. _

_Sarah could have laughed when she heard him sob into her neck. He sniffled and nuzzled closer to her. _

"_I feel like our destiny is linked … don't you Sarah?" _

* * *

"You're kidding me, right!"

"I thought I could see you if I did it!" Sarah responded guiltily when she heard John call out in frustration from the driver's seat of the jeep.

Everyone turned to Sarah with weird looks at her random statement.

"Did what?" Derek asked.

Sarah looked around and noticed that she had been staring at the Hospital for so long and trapped in her memory that she hadn't noticed that the guard station was empty and the gate wide open.

"Nothing …" she cleared her throat and blinked, the awkward silence only lasted for a moment, before John spoke.

"This is crap!" he hit the steering wheel.

Cameron analyzed the guard station a moment longer than looked at John with a confused pause. "This is a good thing isn't it?" she asked with from the passenger's seat.

"Metal's right …" Derek agreed with a face that said John was an idiot.

"Yeah, well …" the teen scratched his head with frustration. "You try creating a back story for a week, then memorize said back story, then just as you can memorize it in you're sleep, there isn't any use for it!" he rounded on his protector and uncle angrily.

After a beat Cameron reached out and patted him on his head comfortingly with a blink, while Derek rubbed his finger and thumb together in the classic "smallest violin" motion.

John mournfully placed the jeep back into gear and moved through the opening. He navigated through the mostly empty parking lot.

Choosing a spot easily accessible from the exits, John turned the jeep off and turned to around in his seat.

"Everyone remember where we parked …" He turned a wink to Sarah in a silent reassurance to her, knowing that this was not something that she was looking forward to. Sarah gave John a tight pressed smile, before he exited with Cameron.

There was a silent moment as she stayed in the now dark car looking at the concrete building as if she was standing at the gates of hell itself. She suddenly felt a hand rub her lab coat clad arm.

"Come on." Derek motioned her to follow with enough confidence for both of them. With a gulp she nodded taking her duffle bag of explosives and instead of opening her door she crawled to Derek's side and exited with him.

The family moved causally toward the large double doors.

"Remember, the information should be in the chief of staffs office … So mom, you and Derek go there and find the information. Then you give me and Cameron the info. You guys take the lab, we'll take the research." John addressed them quietly. There was a nod from everyone as they gathered around the entrance.

"John …" Cameron broke from the group and walked toward the darkened space and loomed over a man in the same black security fatigues as John and Cameron.

Everyone stared at the lifeless body with a nervous hiccup in there breaths.

"He's unconscious." Cameron announced to which Sarah exchanged a look with John.

"Looks like someone's beaten us here." She announced with a dark look.

"It must be Ryan …" Cameron announced.

"What!" Sarah hissed at Cameron as she walked back to the group. "And when did you plan on telling us that you informed him of our mission?" she asked in frustration at the amount of secrets that the cyborg seemed to hold.

"I didn't … he had his own reasoning for coming tonight."

Sarah could tell some how that there was more to the story than the cyborg was leading on.

"So he has no idea that we're going to be in here?" John piped up, with a tone that suggested that he was jumping in to rescue Cameron.

"No, he said it could be nothing." She assured John.

"So then there's a possibility that he's already gone?" the young man turned toward Sarah with a poignant look.

"Yes … it's possible." Cameron answered.

"Then I guess there's no way of knowing." He shrugged at his mother. Sarah didn't appreciate being talked down by anyone, but she conceded that there wasn't a point in continuing the argument.

While Cameron dragged the body in the bushes, John took his ID badge and swiped it through the security panel. With a positive beep the sound of the thudding announced the unlocking of the doors.

Walking inside they were all surprised to find the metal detector off as well as the security Camera's.

"Oh come on!" John slapped his thigh in anger. "I mean why did I even bother to make this stuff up?" he sighed agitatedly

Derek glared at his nephew. "Get over it already!" he chastised as he brushed passed the young man.

Sarah walked gingerly through the gate, her emerald eyes glowing with a small hint of fear and panic.

"You guys should find the Chief of Staff's office in …" John started.

"The administration Offices …" Sarah cut John off with a snap. "I remember" she glowered at him.

"Alright …" He cleared his throat, showing a little chink that said he didn't want to be in this building again anymore than she did.

Seeing the look in his eye she sighed and touched his face. The feeling of his skin under her palms was a comfort that only a mother could understand. She could see the silent fear of losing her again to the twisted walls of the sanitarium again.

"We won't be long." She reassured him setting one of the bags at Cameron's feet. John nodded and gave her his Walkie Talkie.

There was a pause of unspoken I love yous before Sarah and Derek disappeared down the long emotionless hallway.

John sighed and looked to Cameron who was placing the bag on the security desk. It brought him strange comfort to have someone like her with him in a time like this. Just like with his protector last time, he knew if they tried to take a part of his world away from him again, there would be the other half to help him rescue her.

"So …" John said coyly smiling at the baggy fatigues and cap that Cameron was wearing. "What's a girl like you doing in a nut house like this?" he asked with a mock smooth voice.

The cyborg turned toward him from the explosives she was checking.

"Destruction of property and possible arson."

* * *

"This place has no imagination."

Derek announced as he studied the picture of a pretty girl that could almost look like Cameron in a graduation gown and cap enveloped in a hug from behind by a woman with curly poofy hair and a plastic looking formal gown. The woman had shallow brown eyes and there was a strange gothic attractiveness to her as she kissed the girl's cheek.

Sarah looked around at the white tile floor and the file cabinets pushed against the wall that flanked a metal desk. In fact their was nothing in the Chief of Staffs office that was personal, but the picture in the frame that was titled **"Me and Claire" **and one picture of the same woman a little younger but just as happy holding a baby girl in her arms. **"Claire's first Christmas" **

"You'll find most shrinks don't like the personalities they got … so they pretend they don't have them." Sarah growled bitterly as she searched Dr. Kogen's desk. Derek shot his partner a look, but kept quiet as they shuffled through papers.

"Bingo!" Derek announced holding up a piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Sarah huddled next to him and tried to read the document.

"Discrepancy in Project Angel files, D36." He announced.

Sarah nodded with a victorious smile, with a dig through her pant pocket she pulled out John's radio.

"John … do you copy, over?" she called into the black handheld.

"_**Yeah, mom we read you …" **_

"The Research is in Detention Block b room 36."

"_**Second floor?" **_

She turned to Derek to which he nodded.

"Yeah … second floor." She answered.

"_**Alright …" **_

"Be careful …" she added.

"_**You know me." **_

The beauty grinned despite the worried knot in her belly as John cut out. She bit her lip as Derek shuffled through the papers.

"I think I got something on the lab." He looked up at her. She walked over and hunched with him. He was concentrating on a set of numbers and strange symbols written in neat read ink with the word **"Sub B" **at the bottom.

"What is that?" Sarah asked with a frown chalking it up to chicken scratch with numbers.

"It's this binary bullshit that the machines communicate in. I don't understand it, but there's defiantly something in "Sub B" that we should check out." He turned to look at her.

"Sub B … Sub B." Sarah repeated out loud a moment. "Sub base?" she then stopped and looked at Derek who also had the same thought that he blurted out at the same time as her.

"Sub Basement!"

* * *

The passage way that Ryan was lead down from the ladder in the warden's office was dark and damp. He could hear the sound of his feet clacking through a little stream of water running underneath him as he walked.

To his side he could see the remains of the old Pescadero Asylum. Cinder block walls flanked the passage with the occasional barred cell with a Skelton in it, which made him wonder just who was running the place back in the old days.

As he moved forward he could hear a small waterfall like sound of rushing liquid mixed with the loud sound of generators. With his pistol at the ready he reached the end of the passage. The water seemed to end with it cascading down into a lower moat that wrapped around a forest of electric generators that buzzed like millions of angry killer bees.

Ryan jumped off the ledge and landed on the platform. He took a moment to wonder through the maze of the large generators till he saw a staircase leading to a metal door that was common in the future. Walking up the staircase, he didn't miss the wired claymore mines stuck to them.

When he reached the top of the staircase he threw his boot into the base of the door. The hinges popped and it flew open to reveal a dimly lit control room that had security monitors on and a control panel.

In front of the control panel stood a petite slender girl in tight black leather pants and a padded motorcycle jacket, the reflection of Ryan's .45 shined on the polished red helmet.

"_**I'll be with you in a minute …" **_the female tacked on a key board then after a moment she removed her hands from it. _**"You took more time than I expected." **_She turned to face Ryan.

"Traffic …" he replied coldly.

The two faced each other down with Ryan standing stiff and at attention as if showing an automated amount of respect for the female, all be that it was begrudging.

"_**It's been a long time; you've grown so much since the last time we met." **_There was an almost maternal choice of wording to the emotionless mechanical voice.

"I remember that day …" He said with distain.

"_**I do too, it was in Singapore on the roof of a tall building, you disobeyed my wishes and left. That day was a great disappoint." **_The Red Mask nodded. Ryan scoffed at her.

"You twisted psychopath!" he gritted. "You wanted me to kill a man in cold blood by tossing him off the roof!" he pointed at her.

"_**He was a man in the business of prostituting pre teenage girls." **_She tilted her head.

"He was unarmed." he argued back.

"_**He was a threat to those girls and yourself, the world would have been safer as would the children of Singapore if you would have killed him, regardless if he was armed or not. That was the point of my training." **_She lectured.

"No, the point of your meaningless training was to brainwash me with your amoral crap and the only reason I stuck around was because you promised to help me find my mother, which you didn't." There was a cold distain in his voice that would have made a normal person flinch, but the Red Mask didn't make any emotions to it.

"_**I would have shown you where she was if you would have only carried out my order." **_

"I don't fight that way."

"_**No you do not, and that is why what has befallen you, happened." **_She motioned her head to the security monitors that showed Sarah in scrubs and a lab coat walking next to Derek.

"What do you want from me … more important what do you want from her?" he said with a panicked hitch at the sight of her wondering the halls to a place that was rigged to blow.

"_**I'm simply correcting an oversight you keep making." **_

"Which is?" he growled.

"_**I'm doing what's necessary, the death of Sarah Connor would lead to not only your conception, but the end of Skynet's plot to replicate her and use her against John … further more the destruction of this facility and the research it has accumulated would end the cloning program entirely." **_she pulled out a black remote and flipped a switch in which a red light appeared.

"I won't let you kill her, nor the innocent lives in this place." He warned her.

"_**There are no innocent lives … inside these walls are criminals who prey on the innocent, the guards whose job is protecting the staff of doctors which work for Skynet." **_She pointed out turning to face the screen just in time to see John and Cameron pass by on of the camera's that were feeding to the room.

"You're not god … you can't pass judgment on these peoples lives!" he took a step forward.

"_**Why, aren't you doing the same thing by protecting Sarah?" **_she asked discreetly touching John's picture on the screen.

"I'm protecting a woman I love … I'm protecting my family!" Ryan took another step forward. "What are you doing!" he yelled.

The Red Mask gave one last look at John.

"_**The same …" **_she turned away from the screen catching the glance of a squat older man with thinning white hair open his cell door and make for the section 5 broom closet.

The two looked at one another; neither compromising what they believed was the right thing to do.

"Give me the remote." Ryan left no room for argument. The girl turned her head at the command as if amused.

"_**Come and take it." **_her voice had a sharpness to it that transcended the automated cybernetic voice filter of the helmet.

Ryan lifted his side arm and pointed at her with a click of the hammer. "Come and give it to me." He warned her.

An eerie cybernetic jumble that sounded almost like a proud laugh came from the girl. She placed the remote in the waste band of her tight leather pants.

"_**If you shot me … than I would die a happy death knowing that you've finally learned your lesson." **_The girl tilted her head.

Ryan placed his hand on the trigger and pointed it at her, there was a part of him that wanted to end it right now, but there was a stronger side that wanted to prove his former teacher wrong.

The Red Mask placed both her gloved hands in the air as if inviting the shot.

Ryan pulled the hammer forward and dropped his gun to the ground.

"_**Now you're just being stubborn …" **_the red mask placed her hands down into a fighting stance.

Ryan smirked arrogantly and got into an exact same one.

"Let's dance"

* * *

John and Cameron stood in silence as they waited inside a metallic elevator that lifted them to the third floor of the hospital.

There was silence that engulfed the lift as Cameron silently glanced at her companion who seemed transfixed on the ceiling as if he was waiting for something to jump out from the top or a silent predator was stalking him and the beautiful girl, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"John …" she spoke with a gentle voice that broke him out of his alerted vigil of the metal roof.

"Yeah … Cam." He cleared his throat.

"Have you developed a fear of heights?" She asked with concern. John snorted at her question and paused a moment before he caught on to her quiet curiosity.

"Oh no … it just last time I was in an elevator in this place, me and mom were attacked by a T-1000. It gashed mom's back pretty good. She need like thirty stitches." He cleared his throat.

Cameron nodded and looked to the ceiling. "Yes, that would be a great motivator to be on your guard." She agreed.

A smile broke out on his face when she took a step closer to him. However Just as he was about take her hand in his the door's opened and they where faced with a nurses station with a young woman who looked bored out of her mind sitting in front of a computer.

She looked at both of them and then back to her screen. John and Cameron looked at each other before stepping off the elevator.

Both approached the nurse's station where the woman yawned and pressed her cheek to her fist and moved the mouse around and clicked.

"Good evening …" Cameron smiled warmly.

The girl looked back and forth between the couple.

"Starsky, Hutch" she greeted John and then Cameron. "What can I do for the police academy drop outs?" She said sarcastically flicking the mouse around some more.

John had a sour look on his face and he motioned Cameron to speak, fearing that the only thing that would come out of his mouth wouldn't be helpful to their cause.

"We're looking for D36." Cameron continued to have a sunny disposition, which only seemed to annoy the woman even more. But despite that face she pointed down the darkened hall.

"The nerd hang out is down the hall and past the detention block. But, gotta warn you the dorks won't like the rent-a-cops poking around." She sighed no longer holding her attention to them.

"Right …" John snarked in anger and turned to Cameron and motioned her to go ahead. "It was a pleasure." John rolled his eyes walking into the darkened hall next to his protector.

The walk down the hallway was quiet with the only sound being their boots thumping on the polished floor. Suddenly as they turned the corner there were rows of white door with little windows on each side of the dark unlit hallway.

"Cam …" John stopped her grabbing her hand. She turned to look at him with interest. "Look umm …" he kept his voice low. "Whatever you do don't react to anything that's said and whatever happens don't make eye contact, okay." He motioned to the windows.

"Okay …" she nodded, squeezing his hand before she let go of his hand and they walked together shoulder to shoulder. It was relatively quiet, nothing of interest nothing consequence.

"That was until they reached the middle cell. In it John saw pair of crazed eyes haunting Cameron's steps, breathe fogging the glass.

"Hey … hey, let me out." The voice was child like and sweet sounding. John ignored it motioning Cameron not to look. "Hey, that kid was crazy … he was going to make the rats eat my face off … the rats!" he sobbed into the glass as they passed.

"_Don't scream psycho … wait till we're gone then wake up the others." _

John was praying that he wouldn't give the attention they didn't want from the other prisoners.

"Hey little girl … come over here I got candy … I got candy, sugar pie." a man from another cell called to Cameron in a wholesome voice that sounded sinister. She however did as directed, acting as if he didn't exist.

John was about make a sigh of relief when a large slam hit the second to last cell doors on the right so hard the hinges squealed, making John react by moving in front of Cameron defensively in surprise.

"YOU FUCKING PIG!" a large monstrous voice yelled at the teens. "YOU LET ME OUT OF HERE OR I SWEAR ON YOUR WHORE MOTHER'S LIFE THAT I'LL SHATTER YOUR KNEE CAPS AND FORCE YOU TO WATCH ME ASS FUCK YOUR GIRL THERE SO HARD SHE'LL SHIT CUM FOR A WEEK!" There was a psychotic rage of the likes John had never heard before, he was unfazed by the words, but on a look to Cameron there was something very disturbed on her face that made John want to kill the psychopath on the other side.

He instead took Cameron's hand and led her down the hall and away from the cell block as a horse sadistic laugh echoed from the cell across from the loud mouths, as if what he had said was one of the funniest things the incarcerated female had ever heard.

Once they were alone, away from the begging and laughter, John took a deep breath and looked at Cameron who seemed distracted.

"Hey …" he led her back first to the wall and stood in front of her. "Are you okay?" He stuck his hand under her chin so that she would look at him.

"I'm fine John …" She said emotionlessly. But John knew better, for some reason what Cameron had just seen and heard shook her up more than she was willing to admit.

"You want to wait it out a moment? I know that sometimes it can really screw you up to hear some of that." He understood locking eyes with her.

"No …" she stood up straight and kissed his cheek in thanks. "Let's keep moving." She slid from between him and the wall and walked away.

There was apart of John that seemed to hurt at the thought that even a machine from the future could be momentarily defiled by this place. It made him feel the urge to find his mother and hold her for a very longtime, not wanting to imagine what it must have been like to hear those things every night for three years.

After a minute more of walking the two finally found what they were looking for. In the dark hallway was a medium mild manner looking door that didn't seem to have anything special about it.

"Well …" John cleared his throat and went for the door holding the card in hand.

Suddenly Cameron stood in front of him and punched the door open with a slam. There was a pause between the two. John was frozen in shock and surprise holding the identification badge near the panel.

"That works too …" he looked up to see Cameron with a face that seemed off put.

"I don't wish to stay here any longer." She said with a voice that was angry as well as slightly traumatized.

"Alright" he nodded pocketing the badge and watched her go inside.

The Room was a small room of several filing cabinets. And a desk with a computer on it with, ironic enough, a fish tank screen saver.

"I guess we should check to see if this is the place …" John took a seat at the computer and dug through the duffle bag and pulled out a palm pilot connected to a USB cord, after attaching it he began to type on the login screen as information ran over the handheld. "Should be another moment." He said as information started to stream down the screen.

Cameron stood of to the side watching John when she started to hear a low humming.

"John …" She called as he made a grunt of frustration as the computer froze then sputtered before continuing.

"Yeah …" he sighed slapping the tower of the computer.

"Do you hear a low buzzing?" she asked curiously. John stopped typing a moment and strained his ear to listen.

"Sort of …" he turned to look at her knowing that most likely was a bad thing.

The cyborg took a step farther into the cramped room and turned up her audio receptors so that she could concentrate on the small electronic frequency. There was silence as John soon found that when ever Cameron was like this it was not a good thing.

Turning to a cabinet in the back corner, the girl stalked over purposefully and moved it effortlessly to find the section of wall wired with explosives.

"The low hum is a detonator frequency …" Cameron strode to John. "Once we don't hear it we have only five seconds till it explodes.

"So I guess that means we're in the right place then." John stuffed the equipment back into the duffle bag.

"I suspect that all of the Skynet facility is wired." Cameron stated as John zipped the bag.

"Then this is a trap?" asked standing.

"Most likely." She nodded as they exited the room quickly. Not wasting anytime he reached for his walkie talkie.

"Mom …" He called, but there was no response. "Mom … Mom come in, over." There was still no response. John checked the radio to find that it wasn't even crackling. "What's going on?" he turned to Cameron.

"The detonator signal is disrupting the electrical equipment."

* * *

Jaime Golden sat at the security control desk with his feet propped up reading a fantasy novel. He has always got crap from his modeling agent that no one likes there models geeky. He in turned said that no one likes their agents prying into their personal life, thus ended the conversation.

He saw his job as a means to an end. He was a security guard at Pescadero till he could get his big brake in the magazine and advertisement world. Plus it would look good on his résumé, it said he liked danger, and in this day and age who didn't like a bad boy?

There was a knock to the guard station door.

"Always just when things where getting good." He sighed. "Doors unlocked!" he called looking at the monitors to find that they where still blank and fuzzy.

The door opened and he heard bare feet pad inside.

"Yo, did you find out what's up with the monitors tonight?" he asked without looking up from his book.

"God's will my son."

Jaime looked up from his book to see Dr. Silberman holding a M4 with the barrel to his book.

"What in the hell …?"

BANG!"

The sound of the bullet pulverizing the handsome guard's heart, echoed through the hall. Silberman lingered a second before looking the cell block controls for the entire sanitarium.

"God will's it."

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

_**So first of all, to those of you that are shaken up by this chapter. I've majored in criminal psychology for two years now learning the basics for being a "official" Detective, and I'll tell you that, that is a close to an accurate account of how a lot of the caged psychopaths talk and act, especially when confined to a cell for a certain amount of time. **_

_**Though to be honest I've based some of it on Arkham Asylum from the DC Universe. (As I'm wont to do from time to time.) **_

_**So second of all I need to put a disclaimer that I wasn't trying to steal idea's from Metroid 13, I thought I was doing something original till I was pointed to his/her stories and then by that time what was done was done. But I guess there is enough room for both of us in this fandom. **_

_**Part two will be up sometime … close. **_

_**Please no flames if you don't like the violent criminals … you were warned. **_


	12. Tales from the Mad House, Part II

**Warning!**

**This chapter is rated M and there will be zero tolerance for flames so you have been warned! **

**Tales from the Mad House, Part II**

"We need to find Mom and Derek!"

John and Cameron jogged back the way they came, ignoring the racket and screaming of the criminals that had so deeply affected them before.

"The last time we made contact they where in _Mother's_ office." Cameron spoke almost distractedly as they rushed to get back to their adult counter parts.

Flinching at the word "mother", John slid to a stop and looked at Cameron who also stopped on a dime.

"Is there a problem John?" she asked hoping that she hadn't missed anything that could put him at risk.

"You said mother …" John looked at Cameron poignantly with a look of interest married with disgust.

"Did I?" she commented with fax innocence that was making it easier and easier to catch his protector's tell.

"You said "Mother's office" Cam … what do you mean by mother?" he asked.

John was becoming more and more freaked out by the idea that his protector had someone or something that she considered parents. He had always considered Skynet Cameron's father which he appreciated as Shakespearian irony of his love, but for some reason when he put in prospective that Cameron had her own Sarah Connor out there that she cared enough for to call mother, it became so very deeply twisted for him.

Cameron opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off.

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

Sirens wailed in the white emotionless halls of the building, while down the hallway both watched the young nurse that had been so rude to them before take off in a sprint for the elevators.

"What's going on?" John looked at Cameron who looked back at him just as puzzled at the unfamiliar situation they were both in.

There were suddenly several large bangs followed by an almost deafening sound of metallic clanking.

"Oh shit!" was all John could say as he turned away from Cameron toward the end of the hall where a mass of greasy and unkept men and woman in white scrubs stood opposite them watching with contempt and a crazed rage.

John looked down at his black fatigues as did Cameron, before both exchanged looks.

"We're so not dressed for this kind of party …"

* * *

_Sarah stood in front of the mirror in her cell, the day light streamed into her room as she combed her hair in the mirror. She had been waiting for this day for two and a half years. _

_Today she was going to see John again. _

_As she ran a the comb through her long locks of hair and applied some make up given to her by the warden to cover her bruises that Dougy had given to her, the last thing Sharp wanted was for one of her guests to report abuse from the guards and the state board to go looking up his guards asses with a fine brush. _

_However despite that Sarah was going to use it on her face to make herself look pretty, the last thing she wanted her baby to see her look like after all these years was some waste of humanity, sweaty, greasy, and smelling rotten. When John sees her today he's going to see what he remembers most about her. _

_That she was always beautiful no matter where she was. _

_As she fiddled with her hair the sound of her cell door opened and a fat and ugly blond man in all white stood at the door. _

"_Hey baby … it's time." _

* * *

Sarah and Derek followed a path of stairs down into the bawls of the mental hospital. The sound of dripping water from the dehumidifier of the facility worked on Sarah's nerves, making the warrioress grip the handle of her pistol tucked into the waist band of her scrub pants tightly.

Derek led the way taking cautious, but easy steps down the metal maintenance staircase. He had spent fifteen years of his life living in dank and musty subterranean tunnels, so the darkness of the building basement was an unwelcoming homecoming for the soldier.

Mindful that Sarah wasn't use to wandering around in the dark as much as he was; Derek slowed his pace to help ease her transition from light to dark. When she placed and rested a hand on his shoulder he wasn't sure if it was because she was afraid of what they might find down there or if she just wasn't sure of her footing.

When the two made it to the bottom they saw that there was a large open space like any storage basement, but there was a heavy metal door in the back leading to another room.

"That's got to be it." Derek muttered taking a knee and unzipping the duffle bag. He quickly handed Sarah the Remington tactical shotgun she was fond of, while he pulled out his grenade launcher, checking the round inside.

Both took a deep breath to calm their nerves and gain control of the adrenaline that was flowing through their veins. The two partners traded looks and with a swift nod from Sarah they moved toward the door. Both took opposite sides of the entrance, backs pressed flat to the wall.

With a rustle Sarah removed her key card from her lab coat.

"If this doesn't work, then we're going to have to breach the door." Sarah whispered to Derek who was cradling his weapon. He nodded in agreement turning into a ready position, looking to storm the room the minute the door slid open.

Holding her breath, Sarah took her card and was moving to slid it in.

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

An emergency siren began wailing above Sarah's head causing her to jump back to watch the green light strobe above the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Derek yelled over the loud wailing of an alarm. "Our they on to us?" Derek asked watching the woman look horrified.

"No!" Sarah shook her head. "That's the alarm for a prisoner escape!" she called.

Suddenly the room began to fill with steam, fogging the already dark basement. Both partners moved close to each other subconsciously.

"We need to get out of here!" Derek yelled over to Sarah.

Just as they were about to go the metal door began to creak with loud thudding pounds, then after a pause the door flew off its hinges sending it air borne and straight for the couple. At the last moment Derek pushed Sarah out of the way while the door made contact with the soldier sending him barreling into the side of the metal staircase.

On the floor Sarah rolled to her back and looked up at the shadow standing in the lab door frame.

It was a large naked male shadow with a body builder's physic and wispy brown hair. Sarah had a look of shock and fear on her face as she stared up at the ghost who had haunted her dreams for the last half of her teenage years and all of her adult life.

The T-800 looked down at her with a cold emotionless analytical stare, as if searching its database for her. Suddenly its eyes glowed red.

"Sarah Connor?"

The Austrian accent brought flashes of Kyle's death and the chase through the computer factory filled her head as she stared into merciless brown eyes of the thing that took her soldier from her, her innocence, and her life.

Fear gave way to hatred, with gritted teeth she pulled the shotgun to her and blasted the machine in the chest.

It took a step back at the forced of the close blast. She used the traction of her sneakers to push herself away from the Terminator. Once she was farther back she raked the weapon and fired again. The machine once again stumbled back word, its skin shredded with deep holes in its muscled exterior, the endoskeleton showing through the impacted craters of its shredded flesh.

She turned to find Derek flat on his back on the floor, his grenade launcher still entangled in his hand. Slinging the shotgun behind her, Sarah crawled to Derek's fallen form.

"Reese … come on!" Sarah called shaking him. She turned to find the machine recovering. "Reese come on!" she screamed desperately, the fear and shadows surrounding her checked out the warrioress and replaced her with the teenage beauty who had no idea what was going on or why this muscle man was hunting her, only that that she loved the man on the ground and that he was a Reese.

The machine heard the name and stopped a moment and analyzed the fallen man. Seeing the profile of Derek Reese and his rank the machine shifted targets, deeming the lieutenant the imitate threat.

Hearing Sarah's desperate voice, Derek forced his eyes open to find her in fearful tears that he was sure she hadn't noticed or acknowledged. He unconsciously placed a hand on her waist. Seeing something approaching through the mist, he squinted till he could make out the familiar silhouette of the machine he had fought a thousand times before and in that moment it dawned on him that it was the same machine that killed his brother and was once again coming after the woman that Kyle loved.

"Get down!" He yelled and pulled Sarah on top of him. Secured in her his arms Derek lifted his grenade launcher and fired. The round thumped against the machines neck followed by a large explosion sending the endoskeleton flying into the lab. With the flesh of its upper chest, neck, and face cooked off leaving only the wispy brown hair still parted to the side.

Turning back Sarah got up and gave Derek a hand. Once up he keeled with a pained grunt as he cradled his left side.

"I think I broke my one of my ribs." Derek grunted wrapping his arm around Sarah for support wordlessly, to which she accommodated with out a second thought.

"We need to find John and the machine and make a run for it." Sarah advised, while the two made their way up the metal staircase.

Several moments later the T-800 marched up the steps purposefully after its targets.

* * *

The sound of fighting echoed down the hallway as inmates were thrown against caged windows and walls.

Back to back John and Cameron fought their way out of the pit of crazed criminals that were grabbing and scratching at them. John had settled on the one two combination, punching a path through, while Cameron flipped and threw inmates lunging at her all around the hall.

When they reached the elevators, John had scratch markers on his cheek and the material of his fatigues had been clawed threadbare by nails. While Cameron's shirt had been ripped open with a collection of scratches on her bare belly, and she had a bit mark on her cheek.

When a woman with ratty hair and pale complexion jumped for Cameron, the girl caught her mid air and lifted her above her head. Then effortlessly, she tossed her into the advancing group of psychopaths, knocking them down like a bowling ball to the pins. She turned and gave a small smug smirk to John who shrugged at her affectionately.

However the small lull was interrupted when the far side elevator's doors dinged open. Instead of finding guards like John and Cameron were expecting they saw more inmates except this time they were armed with military grade weapons and led by a man John could point out from anywhere.

"_Silberman …" _

The old man turned toward the teens and observed them a moment. Then he looked to Cameron with a fevered madness that made the inmates both John and his protector just fought look like the picture of sanity.

"She's one of them … Demon!" he pointed to the girl with a screech of pure hatred.

The sound of clicking of rifles sent John into survival mode. As if in slow motion, the young hero spotted a stairway entrance. Wrapping his arms around Cameron, he dived shoulder first through the door knocking it open as the sound of loud automatic gun fire riddled the wall outside.

Getting to his feet John cradled his shoulder as the sound of feet approached the doorway.

"Come on …" he motioned to the upper level. "I got a plan." He reassured the cyborg.

"Your shoulder John, it's dislocated." She observed quietly. Then on a dime as shadow's appeared in the doorway Cameron drew John's side arm with one hand, while drawing her's from her own side.

With rapid secession she knocked down three people with her duel pistols. One of the shadows tactical Mossberg's slid to John's feet. Without heisting he picked up the shotgun and pumped it with one hand.

"Let's move …" There was a mature command to his voice that sounded beyond his years that inspired Cameron to move on his every word.

The two ran up the stairs with the sound of more footsteps in pursuit of them. Halfway up John placed his hand on Cameron's belly in a stopping motion.

"John …" Cameron turned to see a mass of shadows about to turn the corner on the landing.

"Jump!" John commanded jumping over the railing back to the second floor. Cameron did so only a millisecond after John. Both teens fell with thuds rolling down the hospital stairwell back to the floor they started on. Cameron ended up rolling on top of John, eliciting a small painful crack on John's bad shoulder.

Despite the pain John and Cameron stayed silent, his face nuzzled into the girl's cheek as the sound of feet thundered up the stairs to the third floor.

"Look at that, dislocated back into place … miracle." John grunted touching his shoulder gingerly. Cameron sat up and looked down at him.

There was a pause that once again seemed to come when John was captivated by Cameron as the moonlight sprinkled over her angelic features making her look like some ethral creature. It also didn't escape John that these moments seem to happen in the most inopportune time.

"Angel …" John cleared his throat nervously and motioned to her mounted on him with her shirt ripped open.

"Oh …" she quickly stood and helped him up, making his shoulder click.

"Thanks" he growled in slight pain picking up the shotgun off the ground. Standing straight again he noticed that Cameron was staring at him weirdly. He flicked his eyes at her a moment while she seemed to be expecting him to say something.

"What?" he shook his head at her.

"You called me Angel … again." She sounded almost amused as interested.

John turned red faced in blush as she pointed out his slip of the tongue of his private nickname for her that he often calls her in his head. He had noticed it too and was hoping that he could move on without her commenting on it, but there he was in an awkward moment of choosing.

"So I did …" he cleared his throat making him sound like Derek when he wanted to move on from a subject.

"I like the name." Cameron reassured him when she saw his embarrassment. The young man cleared his throat once more like any Reese would and motioned to the door.

"Let's get the hell out of here." He said choosing to run down the stairs to the first floor.

Cameron couldn't help but feel like it had a double meaning.

* * *

The Hallway's of the B floor detention block where littered with dead guards with bullet holes in their chests' and unconscious inmates that looked like they were thrown out of the way like rag dolls.

"Cameron was here …"

Sarah nodded at Derek's comment as they limped past open cell after open cell in search of John and Cameron. Sarah turned her head when she heard the beat of bare feet behind them, in the distance the silhouette of a T-800 with only flesh from the waist down shadowed on the corner wall.

"Well you better hope she's still here, because I think that we're going to need her in a minute." Sarah tightened her hold around Derek's waist trying to get instep with him as they raced as fast as they could from the killing machine.

Turning another corner Sarah saw an abandoned doorway that was missing a door completely. "I think that's it!" She called maneuvering her and Derek toward the doorway.

"John, Cameron!" she called to the door, but there was no answer or the figure of her son running out to meet her. Once she and Derek moved into the room they found no one but the figure of a gangly old man muttering to himself crouched in the corner.

In frustration of the situation and an incessant buzzing noise annoying her, Sarah pointed her shotgun in the air and fired into the ceiling, scaring the old man who took off screaming with his hands covering his ears out the door.

A quick sweep of the room showed that the archives Derek and Sarah were in was indeed the research center they where looking for, but there was no sign of the kids anywhere.

"Where are they?" Derek looked around.

"Derek …" Sarah's voice was caught on the name as she pinpointed the sound that was annoying the hell out of the woman. Strapped to the corner of the wall was a collection of heavy explosives.

"Those don't look like the explosives we brought." There was dryness to Derek's statement that seemed to fit the mood that both adults were feeling.

"I can't agree more." She commented with a half breath.

There was a pause before Sarah and Derek limped out of the room quickly only to be confronted by the T-101 who had the schizophrenic old man that Sarah had scared out of the room by the throat and was chocking the life out of him as it advanced on the couple.

Seeing its target's in close proximity, it flicked its wrist snapping the serial killer's neck and marched forward.

"Stand back!" Derek pushed Sarah behind him as he pointed the grenade launcher at the machine and fired it into its face. The shock of the explosion knocked the machine to its back. But just like a tank, the cyborg got to its feet and advanced again. Sarah stood to the side of the soldier and fired the shotgun into the machines face, the blast tattered the last of the cyborg's hair on its head.

"Back …" Derek called to Sarah pressing her backwards as he loaded another round into the launcher. He squeezed the trigger sending a shot to the terminator's upper chest. However this time the machine braced it's self for the shot, however do to its legs being anchored to the force but not to the rest of the body the shock busted a servo in its leg. Thus as it moved toward the couple it limped after them. "I'm out!" Derek said to Sarah as he checked his pockets for rounds.

With gritted teeth, Sarah pumped and fired again and again till she was out. Each shot pinged against the armor and shielding, though she could tell that they mangled it pretty good.

She let out a deep breath and glanced to Derek as if he had anything else, but the soldier just retuned it to her with the same expression. Both looked around the floor a moment try to find anything. When there was nothing the two traded acceptance of their grim reality.

"I'm glad John got out of here …" Derek commented causally with a shrug. Sarah kept an eye on the advancing machine knowing that there was no way of getting out of this one as Derek seemed to have figured out before her.

"Yeah … me too." She nodded with a half smile standing shoulder to shoulder.

Sarah could have laughed when she thought about how she use to joke that there were only two thing that would kill her, being in Pescadero again and the machines, and some how in her last moments she was in Pescadero about to be killed by a being that they placed her inside these four walls for trying to stop its creation.

"Sarah, I got to tell you about Ryan …" Derek turned to look at her.

"I know" she smiled and nodded.

Derek didn't looked shocked at all at her admission to knowing the truth, he simply accepted the sometimes all knowing Sarah Connor.

"How?" he asked as the machine got closer.

"The way he looks at me, when he thinks I'm not looking, I know love when I see it, plus he's more like his father then he realizes." There was smugness to her despite what was in front of them. It was a quality that made Derek love to hate her when it came to the small things when living together.

"I thought you we're going to say it was the hair …" he snorted grimly.

Both Derek and Sarah traded smiles at more then just the comment, but about the whole idea of the two of them dying together. There was just something right about it, something fitting that made Sarah at ease with things. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with Derek's. The eldest Reese boy shifted closer to her.

Just as the machine was almost in reach the buzzing sound cut off making Sarah's ears ring.

Suddenly she felt Derek envelop her in a hug and take her to the ground as the deafening roar of an explosion surrounded them.

* * *

The sound of water dripping from high pipes above the platform of generators was constant and steady almost like clock work. Though in the wake of distant gun fire echoing above and the grunting and slamming from below it was hard to hear as clear as it was normally.

The body of Ryan Connor flew in mid air and slammed into the railing of the outside staircase that led up to the room he was just in.

He grunted painfully a moment, then he took to an alert move before thinking, making a trained back flip off the side of the staircase and onto one of the generators as a petite girl in tight leather and red helmet charged out, her striking fist just missing the officer and almost demolishing the top railing.

Not wasting any time the Red Mask jumped over the railing gracefully and landed on her feet on top of the generator where Ryan had just landed. Both opponents paused a moment before both sent matching kicks from different legs. When both their shins met there was a cloud of dust that lingered from their boots.

Landing his leg gingerly, Ryan loosed a punch at the girl's head which she ducked quickly, countering with an upper cut that the man was already side stepping out of the way from. With another move Ryan sent a horizontal kick for his opponent's head. The Red Mask ducked and swept her feet below trying to take the soldier's out from under him. Ryan Jumped as if anticipating the move.

As the fight progressed it was a blur of unlanded punches and kicks that moved almost inhumanly fast and seemed to flow like water as each fighter seemed to know what each other was going to do before they did it, making every little mistake a dangerous one.

Aiming a jab, the helmeted stranger cut the air like butter. But like before the hero saw it coming and in quick secession learned from studying Wing Chung as a young adult, Ryan moved in and out of the strike and deflected it with his arm, then sent a powerful jab striking the helmet with a blow from his cybernetic hand that sent a tremor to the face covering.

Trying to recover the girl sent a blind right hook which the soldier used the momentum of the force she exerted that could have punched a hole in a brick wall against her, moving out of the way like a bull fighter, and with a push he sent her off the generator and to the ground.

On the high ground, Ryan leapt off the large power source and sent a flying kick to the Red Mask on the ground. Unexpectantly the girl shot her boot in the air kicking him downward while he was redirected with her other boot across the open path between the rows of generators.

He slid on his side and rolled down the platform protected from the metal burns by his faithful leather jacket.

It wasn't lost on both competitors that they got to their feet in the same manner. This made Ryan think that the girl was mocking him openly, while there was an interested smirk covered by her helmet from the assassin.

"You've gone to far this time!" Ryan coughed at the girl.

"_**Continue …" **_the assassin tilted her head.

"These psycho's you've unleashed, they're not people … they're monsters! What don't you understand about that?" he growled.

"_**I'm not ignorant tunnel trash … these killers are but a means to an end. I can't kill every doctor in this hospital, and I can't destroy every Kaliba facility … but they can." **_There was a pause and Ryan swore he could feel a smile on her. _**"It's nice to have some help." **_She finished.

"All you're doing is giving these attack dogs more bloody meat … you're giving them a reason to murder again!" he accused.

"_**It's a necessary evil for the greater good." **_

"It's useless death!"

"_**John Connor's death was a useless death, the death of a Skynet scientist, of a Dyson, of Sarah Connor, those deaths mean something, they're a ticket to a better future, a safer future. You say that you can stop John's death by protecting Sarah? You're a coward who won't protect his family, because he can't pull the trigger on the woman he idolized in photographs. I'm not a coward; I'm doing what you won't. I'm taking them out!"**_ The anger transcended the emotionless cybernetic voice of the automated filter in the helmet._** "And I'll use what ever means necessary to protect him!"**_ in her voice there was no room for compromise, driven like a fanatic to her cause.

At the end of her speech there was a lull to the conversation and for a moment the anger gave way to a sadness that was deep and tore at a person's heart like an angry lion.

"That's not what dad would have wanted …" Ryan for a moment sound like a child again as looked at the girl in front of him. "You know that." He nodded to her heartbrokenly as if fighting her was slowly killing him.

"_**I know that … and I didn't ask to be brought back and to live without him, but it's what has to be done in the interest of the survival of humanity and the survival of the family." **_There was shame to her tone that wasn't there a minute ago as she searched Ryan's sad eyes, it slowly tempering her a moment. _**"If you knew what he means to me and what you mean to me … than you would leave and let me press this button and end my sorrow and be done with it." **_She begged him, under her helmet he knew would probably find tears. 

"You know I can't let you do that … Either we go out with a bang together, or you give me that remote and we both live to fight another day." Ryan had no other emotion for her other than one of sadness and duty.

"_**And you know I can't allow you neither …" **_

The lull pasted and one another knew that this battle had to be fought. Ryan got into a fighter stance while the Red Mask in hers.

She made the first pass at Ryan, sending a kick at him knocking him backward, as he stumbled she moved on him. Her swings avoided, Ryan countered with sudden sure footing that he could always have gotten but wanted to draw her into his trap. However his swing went wide and the assassin countered to which he spun out of the way.

She blocked a vulnerable area of her neck from a chop and pushed him back to which he landed a body blow to her chest sending him back peddling as if he had kicked a metal wall.

Seeing her opportunity to strike the Red mask took a hold of her opponent's jacket and threw him mid air into a large metal wall of a generator where he slid down and fell onto a control panel with a painful thud.

He groaned as he rolled off and landed face first on the cement. Watching her victim hazily crawl to an undetermined destination, she followed like a mother would a crawling baby that was trying to escape his confinement.

"_**One day soon, you'll wake up and look around you, and you'll find everything you hold dear gone, the person you love dead, killed by someone they loved more than the world would ever realize and in that moment I hope you remember me, I hope you've taken notes because the only way to live in a life without your soul mate is to become exactly like me." **_The words coming from her mouth had a strange sense of prophecy to them, Ryan hated her for it.

"You're a murderer, an emotionless killer who only sees the world in black and white!" He growled stopping to look up at her. "I'm nothing like you!" he yelled at her.

The girl tilted her head toward the man.

"_**No …"**_ she said almost airily. _**"Not yet …" **_

A deep rage welled in Ryan that was shown like a sword being drawn in his eyes. He turned and threw a boot viciously into the Red Mask's knee causing a groaning sound of metal under pressure, dropping her to a knee. Then, with the sound of scraping metal, the soldier drew a thin but strong metal pipe from under him and with a follow through swing slammed it into the red helmet of the girl's sending her to the ground.

With a hatred so fierce a wolverine paled in comparison, Ryan slammed the pipe to her head, denting the helmet. He paused a moment as the girl hoisted herself into sitting position and drew the detonator from her tight leather waistband. She flipped a switch that armed the detonator.

Seeing the action, Ryan's anger boiled over caused by the girl in front of him. He hated the way she pushed him and pushed him, trying to mold him into something that she deemed acceptable.

Then with gritted teeth he let it all out with every swing as he hacked and beat at the girl's arm with pipe. As her arm bent, so did the pipe. Finally with a pressure release with another moan of metal the remote skidded to the floor. But the beating didn't. He struck the Red Mask across the face over and over from one side to the next till finally the pipe busted in half and flew off the platform.

He painted heavily looking at the damage he had created. The assassin was cradling her arm to her chest and the helmet had dents and splintered with strands of brunet hair that fell out of a tight bun sticking out of the cracks.

With a look of pure hatred he tossed aside the half pipe and collected the remote detonator.

"This ends here." he said and pressed the disarm button.

BOOM!

The ground shook like an earthquake and sound of a cascading wall broke the inhuman silence of the catacomb like setting.

Ryan turned to see that the girl was standing again.

"You didn't think I would have made it that easy did you?" a hauntingly innocent voice asked from the splintered helmet.

Then with a snap a gloved fist that struck Ryan in the face, everything went black.

* * *

"Where are they?"

John and Cameron jogged to where the jeep had been parked, with the assumption that when the prisoner release alarm went off that they would find Derek and Sarah there waiting for them or at least be close behind them.

But panic began to build when John saw they weren't.

"They're inside still …" Cameron turned to the mental hospital looming over them like a dark foreboding rain cloud.

There was a real fear that began probing John's defenses as he saw no inmates trying to escape as automatic gunfire cut through the cold mid December night. John and Cameron had escaped the carnage, but they knew that inside it was whole sale slaughter for anyone not wearing prisoner scrubs. Every guard, Doctor, and nurse where being cut down like wheat, sounds of brutal murder and rape echoing from the upper levels still rung in John's ear and he could only hope that one of those screams wasn't his mother, and none of the gun shots where for Derek.

"We should go." Cameron turned to John her hair glimmering in the full blue moonlight.

"No we're going to wait!" John growled flicking his vision across the yard looking for any sign of his Parental figures.

"John …" Cameron protested.

"WE WAIT!" He yelled at her. "I LOST HER ONCE IN THERE AND I'M TELLING YOU THAT IF SHE DOESN'T COME OUT OF THERE, I'M GOING IN AFTER HER!" There was a panicked rage to his roars that could have come from a lion with a more mature voice element.

A pause settled over the teens as John's chest huffed wildly.

"We wait." Cameron repeated with a nod.

"We wait …" he sighed in shame at what he saw as a childish fit.

There was another pause filled with the echoing sound of death. John guilty touched Cameron's chin and turned her head to look at the bite mark on her cheek.

"It's already healing … that good." He cleared his throat in a silent apology.

"I wish yours would." She reached out and let his sticky blood from the nail slashes on his cheek stain her finger, a silent acceptance for the yelling.

"Yeah, me too." John sighed, lightly pushing her back against the Jeep, kneeling. He parted her shirt and examined the grizzly cuts to Cameron's smooth belly. "What happened?" he groaned with a wince gripping her naked sides.

"The woman who attacked me said that she couldn't have babies anymore after she drowned hers and said she wanted mine." Cameron frowned at the comment, still trying to understand the reasoning behind it.

John clicked his teeth in audible anger at the person who let the animals out of their cages as well as the woman who tried to rip his best friend's stomach into ribbons.

Seeing the silent brooding anger in John's face, Cameron acted out of automation burying her hands in his hair a moment as he kneeled in front of her his palms warm against her skin.

"They'll heal, John." She reassured him with a smile, hands stroking without knowing it. John gave a tight smile, worry for Sarah and Derek still fresh on his mind.

BOOM!

The feeling of fireworks exploding near his ear sent John to the ground with Cameron on top of him. The explosion was followed with the sound of collapsing concrete as the front wall of the hospital began to collapse.

Without a word John rolled Cameron under the Jeep with him as debris and chalk white dust filled the night air.

Both John and Cameron watched the land slide of concrete together before turning look at each other in the eye both with the same shocked look they sported together all night.

"This just got worst."

* * *

_There were butterflies in Sarah's stomach as she was led down the emotionless hallways of the sanitarium. _

_She didn't know how to feel about all of it as different emotions struck her at different times. In a moment she would feel relieved to know that she would finally see John after all these years, while another part of her didn't want him to see her like this, caged like some circus freak for all the shrink to see. Then there was the thought of seeing John himself, how much he had changed in the last two and a half years, was he still the little boy who called her his best friend and planned sleepovers with her instead of with the friends she could never let him have or was he more grown up and the bitter anger he carried for her still in him so passionately. _

_Her nerves where starting to make her shake as she approached the VIP visitors room. By the time she had gotten to the doors she had forgotten all her jitters and fears, now all she wanted to do was take the love of her life in her arms and spin him around like she once did. She wanted feel his hand under chin, wanted to smell his hair, and touch his skin. _

_When the door opened she took a deep breath and walked inside. _

_In the darkened room sat Silberman at the metal table with their usual cot against the wall. His love struck smile sickened her to no end and she almost gagged audibly at the sight of the cot. _

"_Where's John …?" she asked looking around the room, she caught the tail end of the dubious smile that crossed Dougy's mouth as he started to whistle innocently and sashayed out of the room twirling his night stick. _

"_Please, Sarah … take a seat." Silberman motioned to the chair. _

_She eyed him suspiciously but did so sitting across from him on the metal chair. _

"_You're quite the beauty tonight …" he said with love in his eyes that made the young woman sick to her stomach. _

"_Where's John?" she said, this time more aggressively ignoring the complement. The doctor gave her one of his signature condescending smiles. _

"_Let's talk …" he said laying his hands on hers. Her knee jerk reaction was to break every one of his fingers till he brought her son in to the room, but she played along letting him tease and stroke the skin of her slender hand thoughtfully. _

"_What about?" she tried to ask evenly but her patience was running out and the easy going demeanor that came with her smile looked just as fake as she felt. _

"_Us …" he smiled softly raising her hand and feather kissing it. _

_Sarah figured this is the part where he dumps her, saying that he was a man of integrity and that this affair was wrong and he would only do this for her once. She would put on her sad understanding face that said that she respects him and that their passionate nights where what kept her going and that she would always covert him in her heart and all the rest of the bullshit that she figured could get her into a more relaxed security wing of the building, so this time escape would be at hand. She was even willing to fake pregnancy for the next several months just to get into the low security wing. _

"_You know I love you …" He said sandwiching her hands in his. _

"_I love you too." Sarah had to rush it out or the lie might have died in her throat. _

_The older man nodded and patted her hand. Then he sighed and paused for a moment in thought looking at her eyes. _

"_John's not here, Sarah." He sighed as if it was hard for him to say. _

_The world came tumbling down around her with his statement. It was the same empty feeling that came from the morning she found out her father left, as well as all those nights in High school lying naked in bed, listening to her mother promise that what she just did to Sarah will never happen again though it would take a T-800 to end it all. But most of all what came to her in that moment was watching the EMS zip shut the body bag over Kyle's face as she lay on a gurney._

"_Why not" She sounded absolutely crushed beyond comprehension, shock was glued to her face with the idea of not being able to see and touch the one person who made her who she was. _

_Silberman sighed and patted her hand some more. _

"_Sarah, I've been thinking …" he announced. "The reason you were brought in here was because in the future you claim that machines will rise and destroy the human race, but your son will some day lead the resistance against them. You've also claimed that a soldier came to protect you and your unborn son from a machine sent to kill the both of you …" Silberman tilted his head at her unmoving gaze. _

"_Do you see what the pattern is?" he pushed. _

_Sarah didn't respond to his question just looked off into space. _

"_John" she finally responded as if coming to the light. "It's all for John." She looked up at the doctor as if enlightened by some of his words. _

_The older man smiled lovingly at her. _

"_Yes, Sarah, John is the pattern, all your destructive qualities in your personality comes from the desire to protect John …" He bore into her eyes as she watched her hands. _

"_Yes" she nodded in agreement. _

"_So I think the best way to further your treatment is to separate you from your enabler." He pulled out a document from his lab coat. "I had these documents drawn up for you, they're from DCFS and there about your parental rights to John." He turned the document over and slid it to Sarah. _

"_No" She shook her head at the document. _

"_Sarah, Sarah, Sarah …" Silberman sighed at her as if she was a troublesome child refusing to eat her vegetables. "This will be the best for John, you've tried to escape and it didn't work you and if you try again they'll up your sentence … let him start a new life, a better life." He stood as he talked, walking around the table till he was right behind her. _

_Sarah stared at the document as if the situations and words where being processed in her brain. She felt Silberman's lips start to his her neck while she remained in her waking coma. _

"_Just think …" he whispered pulling her scrub shirt of her head to reveal a white tank top. "In a year or even in several months you can go free and we can start our life together." The doctor's hand stroked her back, while he whispered in her ear. _

"_Your story would be an amazing book, I have a small cabin near arrowhead where no one can find us, just the wilderness, and you and me." He cued softly in her hair, lifting her tank top to her chest letting his other hand trace her thoroughly worked abs. "All you have to do is sign the paper Sarah." He pulled her tank top over her head now. _

_There was a blank look on the beautiful woman's face as she stood topless in front of the man, then she took the chair she was sitting in and turned it to face the man then dutifully she sat, her face near his groin. She looked up at him her arms back like he liked it._

"_Oh, you always know how to start right." He traced her lower lip with his thumb and smiled as he began to undo his pants. _

_Behind her back Sarah unscrewed a pen from the desk. _

_And when he placed a hand on her head to direct her mouth to begin, Sarah jammed the pen into his knee cap. _

"_YOU WON'T TAKE ME FROM MY BOY!" _

_

* * *

_

All of Derek's bones hurt and there was a dull ringing in his ear as he awoke. The sound of feet pounding past his ears made him slowly aware of his surroundings.

He slowly remembered hearing the detonator hum and stop. Then that was when instincts took over his first and only reaction was to protect Sarah. Rubble fell on the back of his leg as he covered Sarah with his body.

"Ahh!" Derek yelled when he tried to move his leg from under the rubble.

"_It's shattered"_

The extreme pain that engulfed him was more than he could ever thought possible. He didn't know what it was like to have a shattered thigh bone, but he figured that this was probably what it felt like.

Panting heavily he looked down to see Sarah lying under him, she was unconscious and her head was lulled to the side with her long raven curls splayed under her. Derek couldn't help but pause at just how beautiful she looked when she slept.

"_Attraction to an unconscious woman … that's doesn't strike me as a mental defect at all." _

"Sarah …" He wheezed as he loomed over, the pain limiting his speech to weak grunts and whimpered pitches. "Sarah wake up …" he breathed, his hand stroking her hair, fearing to shake her.

"_I won't let you take my boy from me …" _she moaned, the sound of her voice becoming like angels singing down from heaven to the injured soldier. Relived at the notion that she was alive, he lowered his head down on her chest.

The sound of running feet and automatic rifle fire being shot into the sky out of joy made Derek stay still. He knew that it would be in his best interest to stay down unmoving over Sarah, as to avoid the chaos of the mass exodus taking place.

However an aggressive clinking caught the lieutenant's ear. He lifted his hazel green eyes up to see the upper body of the T-101 crawling after him, its eyes buzzing a blinking red, making slow progress plowing through chalk white cement.

"Damn …" He wheezed again and looked down on the woman bellow him. "Sarah get up." He called, but she didn't move at all. Breathing heavily he blinked back pain filled tears that fell on Sarah's face.

Leg shattered and unable to move, Derek bit his lip and continued to look down at Sarah, as if sensing his urgency her eyes opened to foggy slits. She said nothing just looked at him.

"_There your responsibility baby, it's your job to Protect them." _

The sound of Catelyn Reese's youthful and sweet southern accent called into Derek's mind, as always his mom reminded him of what he was there for when things seemed confused.

"You know I will …" Derek replied out loud with the same easy tone that his eleven year old self had when she first told him that when concerning Kyle when he began to teach him baseball. But now the blond youth was reminding him that it was now his job to look out for Kyle's family, his family.

Derek coughed and looked up to see the machine moving ever so closer to him.

There were very little regrets that ran through his mind as he got to a knee and looked to fight the Machine hand to hand if he had too in order to protect a dazed Sarah who lay flat on the ground.

Just as it was in reaching distance the sound of rubble crunching paused the machine. The soldier heard it as well and purposeful black combat boots crunched next to Derek. The machine immediately turned to engage the shadow standing next to the officer.

The boots walked with a small jump of building force, then the shadow unleashed a heavy kick to the machines head, making a metallic ring at the force. The machine twisted on its back. The figure pressed his male sized boot the Terminator's torso to pin it to the ground.

SHEEK, SHEEK

BOOM!

The figure smashed the barrel of Sarah's tactical shotgun through the ever smiling endoskeleton's teeth and with a pull of the trigger he obliterated the chip area of the machine putting it down for good.

Derek collapsed to his hands in weakened relief his pain fogging his vision, so much so that he couldn't catch just who it was that ended the killing machines worthless life. All he saw was a familiar figure in black whose face was shadowed.

"John …?" Derek called knowing that there was only one person who could strike a heroic stance of his boot standing on the torso of a wasted machine that he conquered and that was John Connor.

As he faded he could hear his guess gratified.

"Cam … Over here!"

* * *

The sound of dripping water returned to its normal claim as the only thing that broke the eerie silence of the underground tunnel power room for the facility.

In the field of generators several rows powered down in light of the fact that there services were no longer required with the fall of the entire front wall of the Hospital destroying rooms and cells alike.

Clinking down out of the control room the Red Mask had removed her badly damaged helmet revealing the face of angel marred by an eye patch. Her single brown orb sought out Ryan still lying face down on the cold concrete floor where she had left him. He was unconscious and a massive bruise would appear on his Jaw where she had hit him.

Cameron was sad as she walked toward her fallen son who looked unpeaceful in his slumber. She kneeled next to him and gently she turned him over.

With her one good hand she unzipped her leather jacket and shrugged it off, reveling a threadbare white tank top. She placed it on her leather clad lap and with one hand, Cameron dragged Ryan over to her, placing his head on her highs. The mother observed her child's face hard pressed to see the shaggy baby boy she knew to the man whose back of the head was buried in her lap.

He had deep black circles of sleeplessness under his eyes and the stubble on his chin was neither designer nor sculpted like Derek's, but coarse and unhealthy making him look used up and worn down. Her finger ran across the facial scar across his right eye, her slender fingers tracing his scar perfectly, knowing that it was her that gave it to him.

"Someday …" she said with a strange pensive voice watching his left cybernetic hand spasm in malfunction. "Someday …" she repeated raising her own left hand to stare at the twisted and deformed limb that Ryan had beaten into a mess with a metal pipe.

She looked from his arm to his eye and back to her arm.

"Someday I hope you'll forgive me for I've turned you into."

* * *

"_**He's more machine now than a man …" **_

The sound of Ben Kenobi echoed through the living room of the Connor Household.

The two teens who sat on the couch with a box of doughnuts in between them seemed to welcome the lull in the evening.

Since John and Cameron had driven home it had been one problem to the next, needing to find a splint for Derek's shattered right thigh, to keeping Sarah awake for her mild concussion, and then back to finding his uncle some painkillers for his grizzly injury that was testing his vow not to scream in pain.

But after drugging his uncle into a coma and his mother off to take a shower, Cameron had insisted on finishing the final movie of the Star Wars series. John had been showing her a movie a night leading up to the breach of Pescadero.

He had smiled when she seemed to be looking forward to the movies, mostly because it was just the two of them watching them. Derek had claimed that watching them with the machine would ruin the movies for him forever while Sarah often spent more and more of her time stealing Ryan's Intel which was making John concerned at his mother's fascination with the man that barely was around. He had even caught her trying to take his journal once which she passionately denied.

John's amused memory turned to a snort when he turned to Cameron to find her changed into her night gown, engrossed in the movie with a layer of sugar powder around her mouth where she had eaten one of the doughnuts that John forced her to consume on the claim that if he was going to sit on the couch and eat pastries like a brooding twilight fan because of the nights events that she was going to eat with him.

He had to admit he hadn't seen anything cuter since he came to his motel room one day when he was seven to find his mother crying on his bed, because Robert and Anna Scorpio were killed on General Hospital, at dinner she made him swear he would never tell a soul about it.

"What …?" Cameron was looking at him from across the couch, the picture of innocence.

"You got powder all over your mouth." John laughed at her reaching over and brushing some off with his thumb. After a moment and a private look of intimacy from Cameron, while he traced her lips with his wandering thumb. John removed his hand and cleared his throat.

"I'm going to go check on mom and Derek … then I'll get a paper towel." John stood as if the couch was made of hot metal.

"Okay …" Cameron blinked at his strange reaction, then as if it never happened she went back the movie.

John stepped quickly out of the room and felt awkward at the strange need these days to touch his protector in those ways. It was like the more he was aware of not being able to have her the more his brain caused him to touch her in quiet moments. With a sigh John pushed it out of his mind and walked up the stairs to Sarah's room where they had placed Derek.

He was laying on top of the bed with a make shift splint and an IV of painkillers running in his arm. The soldier's face was pale and devoid of color from the pain that at times rendered him unconscious on the ride home.

There was a pang of sadness that hurt John when Cameron had mentioned that Derek might not be able to walk without a cane for the rest of his life. It was hard for John imagine his uncle one of the fiercest men he had ever known being crippled.

Leaning against the door frame, John heard the sound of a sob come from Sarah's bathroom. The young man frowned at the sound, he knew that his mom had gone to take a shower and he heard the sound of the shower head, but he when he heard a whimper a little louder he turned and made his way to the bathroom.

He knocked to announce himself, but when he got no answer he bit his lip and slowly pushed the door open and found Sarah dripping wet wrapped in a towel sitting on the tile floor as the shower continued to run over her head.

She was crying quietly her legs tucked to her chest to which she was hugging, a patient bracelet was gripped tightly in her hand as she rocked back and forth, her face buried in her knees.

John was expecting this to happen. What Pescadero had done to Sarah's head was still effecting her three years later and to be back there again just for John alone who will always saw it as a place that took the woman he loved from him and transformed her into someone he sometimes didn't recognize. When that happened all he wanted to do was tear the building stone for stone.

But seeing her in that moment he never thought about how in the three years he was separated from her, how much he must have changed and how sometimes she didn't recognize him the same way he hadn't her. And in those times maybe she felt like that place stole a piece of him from her like he felt it had him.

Wordlessly John walked to Sarah's crying form. She looked up at the sound of footfalls and when she saw John she shuddered uncontrollably.

"John …" Was all she could muster in the whirlwind of emotions raining down on her like the water.

A tear fell from John's eyes as well and with a half breathe he turned and grabbed another clean towel. He walked back and turned off the shower and knelt sweeping Sarah into his arms and carrying her out of the shower and to the space between the tub and sink. There he slid back against the wall to the floor sitting Sarah in his lap. He took the spare towel and wiped her face with it as she looked into his eyes.

He wasn't aware of his tears till she was tracing them on his cheek.

"I'm sorry …" she whispered in a shaky whimper.

"I know." He replied.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you … for everything." she sobbed suddenly. John tucked her into an embrace, her crying face buried into his black t-shirt.

"I know … god I know." He shushed stroking her wet locks and kissing the top of her head.

* * *

The sound of sporadic gunfire and sirens wailing in the distance seemed to complement the devastation that surrounded Ryan as he staggered through the ruins of the mental hospital. The night was cold and the sent of death and concrete choked the air around him.

His breath was a smoky and visible as he wandered around the abandoned building. The Red Mask's broken left behind helmet clutched in his grip.

In the ruins lay burned and buried bodies of inmates caught in the explosion. Among them bullet riddled mix of doctors and nurses, cut down in a hail of gun fire from angry prisoners.

He staggered across a young pretty redheaded nurse completely naked with a bullet hole in her head and a bleeding vagina. Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and kneeled taking a discarded lab coat in hand. When he opened his eyes again he laid it over her dead body and closed her eyes.

He let his hand linger on her cold lifeless cheek for a moment in apology before he stood and moved on.

Past the rubble stood a SWAT van, which had also been riddled by bullets. A row of bodies also littered the area in front of it, some where inmates others where men in riot gear with shattered shields.

Crimson writing overlaid the top of bullet holes and LAPD insignia on the van.

**JOHN CONNOR WILLS IT TO BE DONE**

The words caused Ryan to clench his fist. Suddenly all the dead doctors, nurses, and guards that were killed in the name of a man that none of them knew at all sent him into a blinding rage.

The bodies and name on the van tore at him as did the knowledge that there was an army of killers unleashed on the population degrading his fathers name in there misguided fanaticism.

He couldn't hold in his emotion in any longer, with hatred he threw the red helmet at the words on the van making a dent on his father's name.

Then he unleashed a rage enticed painful roar to the star field above dropping to his knees wearily and looked down at the dust, panting.

In the shadows from a distance a monster in a metal opera mask observed the hero with binoculars.

"If I didn't want to feed his flesh to my beloved on our wedding day I would almost feel sorry for him …"

A twisted sound of wet rancid meat squishing echoed lightly from under the mask.

"Almost …"

* * *

_**Author's Notes **_

_**So this chapter was pretty intense and I hope that it won't make you stop reading. **_

_**Now I've gotten several E-mails asking "if Ryan burned Cameron's body along with John's then how can she be the red mask?" well I can go about this two ways. **_

_**1.) You can wait for the answer to come in the story because I am going to address it. **_

_**2.) You can go to Purpose chapter 18 "Bargain at the Crossroads" and reread the final section where John and Cameron make a deal with Weaver!Sarah. I would say pay attention to what John says Skynet wants from Cameron. Think flash drive.**_

_**I've always disliked the unlimited amount of Machines that seem to appear out of no where in FFs of this fandom. So I've intentionally holding back on them so that when a Terminator appears I want there to be a "oh shit!" moment. **_

_**If you didn't know, yes, Cameron is the one who cut off Ryan's arm and gauged his eye out when he arrived to rescue Alison.**_

_**I like the idea that Sarah without any help just knows who Ryan is from the feeling in her heart. As well as Ryan eventually figuring out who the red mask is through her movements. **_


	13. Silver Bells

_**So there are some complications here with this chapter. **_

_**I had planned on this being one chapter, but due to the building word count and my shaky travel schedule this is once again going to be a two part story. **_

_**Now I didn't want this chapter to be a another two part arc, but for some reason I plan way to much shit in these chapters for it all two fit into one chapter. Also I might not be able to post for awhile so this also might be the last chapter for several weeks, but on the other hand by the time I post … I might be mostly done with the story. **_

_**Enjoy it ;)**_

**Silver Bells **

"Merry Christmas, Katie!"

"Happy holidays, Mrs. Angstrom."

Katherine Brewster walked outside of the local animal shelter behind the _**boulevard**_.

In truth she didn't actually have to be home for another four hours, but she didn't want to fight LA traffic and it wasn't that short of a distance to the hills from downtown where she volunteered at the shelter for abused and mistreated animals. She figured that getting home to her Uncle Irving's house would also give her time to find a good dress to put on for her uncle's big Christmas party with the rest of his army buddies. Since her late father was in the Air Force and not in the Army the teenage girl found it hard to relate to her uncles friends, so she would just smile at their crude jokes and ignore the occasional drunken swat to her ass which would end in someone getting their teeth knocked out by her uncle.

As Kate walked down the sidewalk she stared at her reflection in the display windows of the dress store fronts. She was a petite and attractive girl of sixteen with flaming red hair and pale skin. She endured such taunts as "ginger" and "Day Walker" but no one could deny that she was pretty which led to "Ginger Queen" which she didn't appreciate either. Her blue eyes narrowed as she turned away from the reflection and back to the side walk.

"Man its cold …" a woman commented in passing as she rushed inside a high end sundry store. Kate let her pass in front of her, holding the door open for her, which she got a warm smile and a nod before she and a cute little blond girl no older than three who despite dressed like a Eskimo her little cheeks were still red.

When the mother and daughter where gone Kate shivered her self and closed the collar of her coat a little tighter. She knew this morning that it was going to be cold, but if she knew that there was talk of snow tonight she might not have worn stretches and a miniskirt to work.

"_Whatever happened to it always being sunny in LA?"_

She listened to her boots click on the side walk and seemed to be enticed by the Christmas lights in the window of a toy store.

That's when she heard it, in the late afternoon, amongst dozens of children at the store window hoping and praying that Santa Clause will bring them the toys they asked for. It was the strangled sound of a wounded dog yelping painfully.

Years of volunteering in shelters taught her the sound of animals in pain and how to spot them in crowded places. She hitched her bag on her shoulder, knowing that she still had some medical equipment in her bag.

Knowing she still had enough time to bring in the little animal back to the shelter before she had to go, she pursued the sound down into an alleyway.

The alley was dark and damp; there were dumpsters against the walls and balconies overhead belonging to crappy second hand apartments that were plagued by roach infestations. As she moved through the tight walkway her boot splashed through a puddle.

At the end of the alley was an off colored brick wall with a green dumpster standing in the corner. In between the space sat a Golden Retriever with a broken ankle on its front leg.

"It's okay sweetheart … I'm here to help." Kate cautiously approached the dirty dig with her hands raised. The dog however just whined in pain.

Kate bit her lip and motioned for the dog to come as she dug through her bag for supplies.

"You were always a caring soul Katie …"

Kate jumped at the husky growl to a faintly Slavic voice.

She quickly turned on her heels to see a tall man with long greasy salt and pepper hair tied in a pony tail. He had dark predatory face that matched his crazed eyes. He wore an open leather brown vest over his bare chest despite the cold weather and a pair of matching leather pants. On his chest were tally marks carved into his skin matched with prison inked tattoos that covered his slightly age bloated body.

"It's a rare thing to get to kill a person twice in a lifetime."

* * *

The sound of children outside running and screaming with laughter echoed ever so slightly through the fancy kitchen of the Young home in Palmdale.

Claire Kogan Young was a angelically beautiful slim woman in her mid twenties with long blond hair and doe brown eyes that gave her the feign look of innocence that often led to being carded at bars and restaurants due to her youthful teenage look that she couldn't quiet get away from.

However the ballerina wasn't at all in a joyful place in her life, her mood swings due to pregnancy only worsened of late. She could blame her hormones, but she knew that it was the grief of losing her mother.

She could still remember looking at that little blue plus sign on the pregnancy test and being filled with absolute love and joy; screw the Russian son of bitches who told her to think of her dancing career, this was truly what she wanted. Her mother, Serena was the first person she called; she didn't stop trying when no one answered for an hour. When she was going for number twenty on the speed dial that was when the cops came to her door to tell her the news, the news that her mother had been gutted chest to pelvis and the mansion that had served as Claire's childhood home was burned to the ground.

What started out as happy news now only left her empty. Her baby would never get to be held by her grandmother, or get to sleep in her mommy's old room when she spent summers at the mansion. Now all she would know of the woman who had meant everything to her mother was pictures and stories.

A tear stained Claire's face as she touched her flat stomach, walking into her large living room she stared at the white lit Christmas tree with a collection of matching bows and ball decorations. She switched on Chopin on her Bose surround sound speakers and let the music flow through her.

She felt so lonely standing in her empty living room. Her husband was not there nor would he be for another Christmas. Their marriage was the closest thing to arranged as it was legally possible. He didn't love her and she didn't love him, an architect for her mother's company, he often was in other places in the country and the state.

She had nannies take care of her husbands other daughter, a product of an affair during his countless philandering. He had even let the pregnant woman stay in their house when Claire was away. She knew this was true because she called her own house and the pregnant woman answered the phone and claimed to be her. She was later informed that she also answered as her when a councilor for some halfway house called saying they had Claire's daughter on the other line.

After the halfway house incident, she swore she would leave him, but her mother forbid her too. She had wanted to tell her off, but it had always been this way her entire life. Serena Kogan made all of the decisions for Claire no matter how much she had hated it.

Half the reason she had wanted to tell her mother about her pregnancy was, because she was constantly pestered weekly to get pregnant. In fact if it wasn't for Ballet she would go as far as to say that the only reason she was born was to conceive a daughter. She found out it had been the same with her husband.

In one of their few honest talks they had ever had he claimed he felt that the only reason he was born was to mate with Claire, which maybe was why the two hated each other so much.

"_The Vessel" _

That's what she had heard her mother slip out once upon talking about her daughter, never a boy, always a girl. A Vessel for what? Claire never knew.

"The rich and powerful and their games." She sighed with a hitch of worry for her baby at the thought of her life and her mother's secrets.

"No Child … Destiny's game." A voice called to her. A bristling sting went through her nerves at the sound of the stranger. She quickly turned to the source of the voice.

An older man with thin silver hair stood in an all white outfit with a black ring collar like a reverse colored priest's clothing, he had a bible hugged close to his heart. His blue eyes seemed to be contorted in condescending sympathy for the ballerina.

There was a tense pause that was filled with the enhanced high quality of the piano accompaniment to Nocturne in C Minor. Claire was speechless at what to say to the man who had broken into her house. Apart of her wanted to go for the phone and call the police. He looked like he was several decades past his prime to keep up with the fit woman.

"And unfortunately we are here to change destiny for all of us …" the older man said with a calm voice that sounded more insane than any hysterical laugh she had ever heard. It didn't take Claire long to search out the threat in the man's voice.

Claire turned to bolt back to the kitchen, but she saw two large men one white, one black, and both had large muscles. The white guy had a Mohawk and a spiked collar and the black man was bald and was shirtless showcasing scars over his rock hard abs.

She turned back to the man who now had a woman next to him with messy strawberry blond hair and a rat face, on her back was what looked like a flame thrower. On his other side a tall and broad man stood; she couldn't get a good look at him because he had an unbound straight jacket on and a mouth muzzle. The muzzled man also seemed to find the young woman's fear to be absolutely hilarious.

It didn't take long for the soon to be mother to figure that these people had to be a part of the escaped criminals from Pescadero that had turned downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood into a war zone between gangs and police. She just never figured that the madness would reach her in Palmdale of all places.

"What do you want …" Claire asked when she knew there was no where to run. The group was ever silent looking to the preacher for guidance as if not sure themselves.

"To cleanse you of the evil seed within you're belly." The old man spoke to her in a tone of self righteousness.

She was shaking her head before she even fully understood what he had meant.

"No!" Claire didn't even know she was screaming at them. "Don't take my baby!" she cried hugging her stomach protectively.

The man smiled surly at her.

"Child … the baby in your womb is not an innocent, but an abomination of unspeakable evil that by the grace of god we are here to eradicate from existence." He explained slowly.

There a form of disbelief that came over the young woman at the words this twisted holy man was spouting. She had read stories and seen television shows where thing like this happened, but she didn't think this would actually or even could happen to her. I was just so insane, that she had to pinch herself to see that it wasn't a dream.

But in the back of her mind something was tugging free, that made her think that this was not only possible, but should be expected.

"_The Vessel" _

"No!" she cried out in tears. "I won't let you take her from me!" she stood and backed up till she was flat against the fire place, the tinsel of the nativity scene display on the balcony stuck to her hair.

The preacher smiled softly.

"Thank you … you saved me and my parish a lot of time and effort that would have come from knifing through your stomach." He nodded in appreciation. "We will pray for your soul, as your body is purified by the flames of you and your Childs damnation." He motioned to the woman with the flame thrower. She stepped forward and twisted a knob on the top of the muzzle.

Claire dropped to her knees at the helplessness of the situation. No matter where she went they were going to kill her and her unborn baby.

"Don't worry angel … mommy is with you." She whispered to the fetus in tears, closing her eyes at the smell of the gas spewing from the tank.

CRASH

The sound of the front door crashing open made all in the room jump. Claire whimpered at the slow torture of the not knowing when.

"What was that?" The thug with a Mohawk asked.

"Go check it out … brother." The preacher said to the man.

"Right away!" he said and sprinted toward the front of the large home.

"Yo, it's Vinny … Someone fucked him up and threw him through the door!" the thug reported from out of sight.

"Is he dead …?" the preacher called with a slight nervous catch that made the rest of the intruders paranoid at who or what might have taken down their look out.

"…"

The Mohawk stranger gave no reply.

"Hawthorne … come on, answer the preacher man!" the black man yelled out to the entrance, but like before he received no reply.

Claire looked from the four remaining stranger to the corner wall that was blocking the view of her house's entrance. She wasn't sure if it was someone who came to save her and her baby or another crazy who had a darker purpose for her than the crazed bible thumpers that had her hostage.

"I believe we should complete our sacred duty before we lose our opportunity." The old man said and nodded to the girl.

"No!" Claire wallowed. "You have the wrong house, my girl hasn't even been given a chance!" she screamed at the woman pointing the weapon at her.

"Nor will we let her!" the preacher replied and swiftly pointed to woman with authority. "It's time to repent for your sinful existence!" he called. The woman backed away for room, while Claire silently prayed in tears.

Suddenly just as the trigger to the flame thrower was being squeezed, a figure leaped from the shadows and forward rolled in front of Claire defensively.

The figure had a silvery looking three layered nomex blanket wrapped around him like a cape. As the flames rushed toward them the shadow lifted the blanket over his face, using the heavy material as a wall protecting her and the stranger as all around them the brick wall of the fire place was charred and her expensive entertainment center as well as her curtains went up in flames.

After the short burst of fire subsided the ballerina's hero Jumped to his feet and swung the large blanket around once, making a whooshing sound that cut the air before tossing it at the woman with the flame thrower.

Flying through the air like a sail of a ship, the heavy material swallowed the crazed woman and sent her stumbling backward. Quickly on her heels the now visible male figure sent a kick toward his blinded foe, sending her into a glass case of collectible dolls.

Claire looked at her rescuer with a sense of worry and interest. He was tall and athletic looking. He wore a black beanie on his head and a matching scarf tied around his nose and mouth like a bandanna. He also had on black cargo pants tucked into grim stained motorcycle boots and wore an old looking leather button down coat.

Seeing the ambusher, the large thug in the kitchen charged after Claire's protector, with one of her kitchen knifes in hand. The man turned just in time and anticipated the clumsy strike of the killers, deflecting and redirecting the knife with a smooth looking flash of hands before he delivered an upper cut to the thugs chin sending him airborne than to the floor.

The preacher seeing this grabbed the muzzled follower in the straight jacket after moving behind him and pushed him at the disguised fighter.

The speed and momentum of the pushed psycho took the defender by surprise and the floppy sleeved man was able to land a blow on the stranger's cheek sending him reeling for a second. Regaining his footing the man put up his hands in a martial arts stance as the flappy sleeved killer attacked again. The muzzled psycho struck with his right fist with another attempt at his opponents head. Claire's protector blocked it with his left forearm and laid a cupped slap to the killer's ear. With a painful scream the killer lashed out with a blind jab on the stuck ear side. Easily, the protector blocked and deflected the jab, and threw a body shot to the killer. While lolled, the defender grabbed the crazed man by the many handles on his jacket and judo threw him head first into the fire engulfed entertainment center.

He turned to Claire who was still on the ground and in shock from all that had happened.

"Come on!" Her protector's voice was muffled by the scarf as he helped her to her feet.

The sound of squeaking metal protesting turned both their heads.

In the corner the preacher was turning up the output of the flame thrower with the hose in hand and a laugh in his throat.

"You're going to feel the darkness boy!" Silberman cried to Ryan.

"Not before you …"

In a heart beat the soldier drew his colt like a gunslinger and fired, he hit the fire tube of the flame thrower and before anyone could do anything the flame thrower exploded incinerating the woman it was attached to and setting the entire back of Silberman's clothing on fire. The man screamed in terror and ran out of the house.

A sense of urgency came over Ryan as he felt his energy begin to leave him as the oxygen began to be depleted in the flaming room around him.

"We … have to …" he began tiredly.

"Watch out!" Claire screamed.

Ryan whipped around to see the floppy sleeved man he kicked into the entertainment center marching toward him. His sleeves completely on fire, yet he made no sound.

The killer threw a flaming punch at Ryan. The officer didn't know what he was doing but he didn't take time to think as he caught the flaming fist and twisted it to the killer's legs, before he slammed a kick into the killer's jaw sending him back into the raging inferno around them.

Suddenly he felt his strength leave him for a moment as the intense heat and the unrealized pain from his deeply burned hand began to make him feel weak.

"_Heat is zapping what little of my strength left … losing consciousness."_

"No! Please get up … Don't leave me here!"

The man could hear his young grandmother begging him to stand, wondering when he fell to all fours before he was somewhere else.

_Ryan had been alone in the darkened cabin's shed breathing heavily with his head resting on the cold wall trying not to pass out from the lack of sleep when a light flashed in his eyes to which he grunted and put his hands up shielding them from the beam. _

"_I guess you're not use to people sneaking up on you, huh?" a familiar voice asked with a slight giggle. _

_He looked up to find Sarah in all black with a raised shotgun pointed at him and behind her a tom boy looking girl with freckles and a red shirt. _

"_I was taking a breather for a moment …" He glared at Lauren Fields. "In private." He spat at the teen who only grinned slyly at his comment. _

"_You shouldn't be out here alone." Sarah said with absolute authority. Ryan gritted his teeth. _

"_Yeah, well your opinion means shit me!" he snapped, washing some cold water on his face. _

_Sarah gave him a hardened look that said she didn't appreciate what was just said._

"_Touchy there trigger?" Lauren seemed to also not like his tone with Sarah, who she viewed as a role model who should be listened to and not talked back to like the man had been doing all night._

"_The machine is out there and you could've been dead just now." She growled at him following off the girls comment._

_Ryan took a heavy breath and with a quick turn snatched Sarah's shotgun from her grip. Sarah lunged for it, but Ryan turned his back on her and unloaded the shell on the inside. Seeing that she looked ridicules trying to grab it back like a school girl fighting for a stolen diary she broke off her pursuit and let him have it. _

"_And now I got a better shot of living through this than both of you." He huffed walking over to the work bench, tossing down Sarah's shotgun and began to unravel some string used to hang bird houses. _

"_You're in a mood …" Lauren huffed perching herself on the work table where Sarah started grabbing home improvement supplies and stuffing them into a black duffle bag. _

_With the sound of a cocking shotgun Ryan turned and pointed it at Lauren's chest. _

"_Hey!" Sarah called in surprise at the rash and unwarranted action. _

"_Try and take it back." Ryan said to Sarah keeping a deadly eye on Lauren who was holding her breath with a look of pure confusion at what was developing in front of her. _

_The beautiful woman gave him a suspicious look before she reached out and yanked the gun out of his hand. However her shotgun recoiled in protest toward the man, upon a closer look it revealed a string tied to the handle that was looped around the soldier's wrist securely. _

"_Just because I don't give a rat's ass about your orders …" He freed his hand from the loop surrendering the shotgun to Sarah fully. "Doesn't mean I care any less about your life." Ryan patted Sarah stomach in passing before leaving the shed to the two females. _

_There was a pause as Sarah played with the string tied to her shotgun, wondering if John had taught him that trick, or possibly even her. _

_She looked to Lauren who was looking at the door with the grin of a girl with a crush. She turned back to Sarah with a shrug at the woman's pensive face. _

"_He's your brother."_

"I don't want to die!"

Ryan could hear Claire sobbing hysterically as the young ballerina cradled him in her arms; it was almost an echo to the first words that Alison had sobbed to him when he found her paralyzed on the aircraft carrier. The memories of his failure on the Enterprise brought him a vengeful strength that came from the fiery need for redemption for that night.

He pushed himself off the floor and to his feet. Sweat was poring down his face as the flames surrounded him.

"_Windows …" _

He looked to the glass windows of the living room to find a wall of flames surrounding them. He looked around feeling a blinding light in his eyes that didn't come from the flames. He squinted upward to look into the late afternoon sun through a skylight.

With a quick look around a plan formulated.

"On your feet!" he yelled at Claire who was still on her knees crying helplessly. She sniffled and complied. "Go bring me the fire poker!" he commanded over the roaring flames. She nodded and did as he asked in a haze of panicked obedience. Meanwhile, Ryan tore down the large eight foot Christmas tree and began ripping off a long strand of lights.

"What are you doing!" Claire came back with the poker in hand.

Ryan ignored her and snatched the iron object and walked over and dropped the handle in the flames.

"Cover your face!" he called pointing his pistol to the skyline and opened fire, smashing the glass into tiny pieces. Holstering his pistol he ripped off his scarf and tied it around his burned mechanical hand. Bending down he pull out the iron fire poker and with his foot holding it down he used his covered hand to bend the metal on to itself. Some smoke rose from under his palm and he gritted his teeth as he bent the metal.

Once that was done, he took the Christmas light string and tied a knot to the bent poker.

"Stand back" He wheezed from the smoke, once Claire was clear he spun the make shift rope like a lasso, using the bent poker like a grapple. He flung it through the window billowing with smoke. There a clank and the soldier gave a sturdy tug to make sure it was secure.

"Hold on to me!" Ryan yelled. Claire rushed to him at once seeing what he was attempting to do. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and buried her face into the old leather of his jacket, not wanting to see the flames licking ever closer to them.

With a strained grunt Ryan began to slowly climb the light strand, rising above the flames and into the blinding smoke.

He coughed at the lack of oxygen as the black smog vented through the hole in the ceiling. He felt tired and numb, straining to continue onward toward the light of the late afternoon on the roof of the house while balancing the ballerina's weight.

Below them the fire consumed the area were they had been standing only moments ago. This put more pressure on Ryan, who knew that if he were to mess up even slightly, that he, his grandmother and his biological mother would die.

His motivation came in the form of the Enterprise engineering conference rooms where he could still hear Alison begging him to tell her what John Connor looked like, still seeing her cry at the thought that she never made her life into something.

"_We have the same eyes …" _

Ryan made a loud and determined growl pushing himself to his limits as he reached up and pulled himself and Claire to the top of the roof.

He wheezed and coughed as he lay flat on his stomach on the surface of the roof. He could feel the slim young woman nuzzled into the back of his head her petite frame rising and falling, both their breaths visible on the cold Christmas Eve.

Once they leapt into some bushes from the roof it took Ryan ten minutes to Pry Claire off him, who was sobbing into his chest. As he held her he had always mused about his grandmother on his mother's side. All his mom had ever told him over the years about her was that she was beautiful and loved music and dancing. She disregarded any other questions on the matter, only saying "Sarah Connor was the closest and only mother I've truly ever had."

When the sound of fire trucks filled the distant air, he passed the beautiful woman over to a neighbor after a kiss to her forehead and a pressed hand to her soon to be swollen belly.

He slowly staggered away from the scene, several blocks away he found his motorcycle parked in front of the gated community.

With a thud, Ryan sat on the cement, back to the frame of his motorcycle, knees drawn up. He removed the charred scarf around his burned cybernetic hand and examined the wound. The smooth flesh of Cameron's coloring was burned to the third degree and a strip of metal appeared in place of the skin between the lines on his palm, which made servo and piston sounds when he flexed his fingers.

"That was close …" he painted to himself burying his face into his knees almost to worn out to move.

"Too close …"

* * *

Despite the importance of the matter it never seemed to amaze Danny Dyson how the company could somehow chose some of the blandest places on earth to have their meetings.

The room that the six people where jammed into looked no better than a cafeteria kitchen. The walls were white, and the plain long metal table was as cold as the room itself.

It didn't escape the notice of the young scientist that there should be at least ten in the room. But after what happen to Stephen yesterday in his own home no less, He found himself a little scared about what might happen to him or his mother.

"Umm … sir?" Travis was a squat balding man in his forties who never rounded third base with a woman he didn't pay.

Danny could understand why the little man was afraid, since Serena's death all that was left of them now reported to him.

They called the man _him_ because he had never given a name to be addressed by, because according to him they're not allowed to talk only listen unless it's something worth his time. Alisa, the director of communications for Kaliba, a former fashion editor for a magazine in Paris once asked the man how they were suppose to know shit about his preferences to questions. After the monster twisted her head off like cardboard no one ever said a word.

"What is it?"

The new boss was tall and had the build of a gorilla. He only ever wore army surplus pants and tank tops in black and wore a metal opera mask to cover his face.

"Sir, I was wondering … well I was wondering what the plan is … in dealing with the psychopaths hunting down our programmers." Travis literally shook the entire time he spoke, giving the stereotypical nerd the appearance of a sickly Chihuahua.

Though the expression was hidden by his odd metal mask, Danny could tell that their leader seemed pleased at being feared.

"Nothing …" he spoke solemnly.

There were murmurs of distress at his answer.

"But, sir!" Pamela could've been an attractive blond if she wasn't so inept at makeup and dress. "What are we suppose to do while these televangelist Jihadists are hunting us like turkeys on Thanksgiving eve?" she seemed outraged.

He moved slightly in his chair which caused the room to quiet in fear. Danny could tell that though he was just shifting to a more comfortable place, he was also showing authority.

"_**If you're so incline, sleeps with a gun under you're pillow … we pay you a lot of money hire your own security force, we're not responsible for your personal security when you leave this facility**_._**"**_

A voice came over the facility's speakers in the room making everyone jump. It was the disembodied voice of the big boss. Many didn't know who the CEO was or what kind of man he was that played the wizard of oz behind the curtain, it was Danny alone who knew it was the AI that had sought him out in college and gave him his job at the company.

"_**He knows my mind Pamela Isles, it is wise not to question him again …" **_

"Yes … Yes sir …" Pamela would say nothing for the rest of the meeting.

"Then who are you going after …?" Danny called to the large man, knowing that he was just as untouchable to the AI built out of his fathers design as the muscle man was.

There was a pause from everyone as the Monster turned to Danny, his crazed violet eyes regarding the man coldly.

"Ryan Connor …" the hate in the man's voice was undeniable and almost scary, Danny would have pissed his pants if it wasn't for his insurmountable outrage.

"Ryan Connor!" Danny had a high pitched disbelief in his voice. "Madmen are hunting down the life blood of this company and what; you're crossing blades with some Ex Tech-Com Renegade whose own commanders want to see him dead?" Danny slammed his hand on the table forgetting himself.

No one in the room could get him wrong he hated the Connor's, both John and Sarah, they're the reason that his father died and he use to dream what he would do to both of them if he ever got his hands on them, so the idea of John having a kid with that girl who showed up at their door nine years ago made him angry that he had the nerve to move on, but this was not the time for revenge especially when they were locked in a turf war with Zirea Corp. and the Pescadero break out.

"I guess it's true that smart people over analyze everything …"

Everyone turned in their seats to the Slavic accented voice in the shadows.

The man was medium height shrunken from age as was he bloated. Danny couldn't figure how biker trash could not only find his way into their secure facility, but find the board meetings secret place.

"Who the hell do you think you are barging in here like this?" Danny heard himself ask the older looking man with long greasy hair and primal features.

The man snorted at the comment and waltz across the table giving a good look around the room, inspecting each person in it. He walked with a purposeful click of boots and seemed to strut with his chest sticking out for the entire world to see, showcasing tally marks as if they were Lombardy trophies.

Danny could see that several people had hit the silent security alarm, but no one came. Danny began to fear that the man passing around the table opposite the monster was one of the psychos from Pescadero who just hit the jackpot.

"So …" the man started to rub Pamela's shoulders suggestively which earned a frightened whimper. "I heard that you have a Connor problem …" the man was causal.

"You know something of it …?" Danny asked.

The man shrugged massaging the blond's shoulders as she shrank into the seat trying to get out of his grip.

"They've never been a problem, more of a fun past time." There was a murderous arrogance to his voice that was reassuring in a squeamish sort of way.

"I know you …" Travis said quietly. "You were one of the men that … Doctor Kogan brought with her … but she put you in Pescadero, because … because you were too unpredictable … more than the clown. She said that you were a bad investment." The smaller man had the accusatory voice of an elementary level child.

"Dr. Samwell … Dr. Samwell … oh Sammy." He sighed moving away from Pamela and to Travis who stiffened at the mention of his name that he didn't know he knew. "Look at yourself … all of you." He said making a grand gesture to everyone. "You have world domination on your finger tips." He bent down and showed the balding man his finger tips, placing an arm around his shoulder. "But you keep letting the Connor's make you drop the ball!" Fast as lightening there was a snap and Travis fell face first to the table, neck broken.

"You bastard!" Danny stood up.

"Sit!" The Monster roared, sending Danny back into his chair in surprise at the enraged ferocity of his echoing voice. The killer smiled at the reaction. "I want to hear what this disgrace has to say." The monster said to all of the five remaining alive board members.

"_**As do I …" **_

The leather clad man took a deep breath of boredom.

"Well all I was saying was that it seems that you're making a big deal over Connor and his pet cheerleader's little mutt." He shrugged again working his around the table, giving Danny a slap to the back of the head, knowing that the black man's fears overrode his pride to strike back.

"_**A fool is one who underestimates his enemy's skills …" **_

"I don't underestimate the Detective oh scary voice …" The Slavic man mocked. "I simply know that I'm better than this man." He was smug enough to win over the surviving members of the board.

"You're so sure of this …" the monster asked.

"Please …" he laughed. "I've Raped woman, killed children and took what I pleased up and down Resistance territory and tunnels, and no Connor could tell you what color my hair is." There was an evil to his laughter that no one felt comfortable hearing.

"If it's so "Fun" why haven't you done anything about him, or the others." Danny shot at the man.

The killer clicked his teeth at the comment, treating the young man as if he was annoying fly that would leave him be on a hot day.

"I needed time and inspiration …" He sighed.

"_**And have you found them?" **_

"I can … for a price." He stretched pushing Travis's lifeless body out of the chair and to the ground. He jumped into the chair and put his feet up on the table, lounging backward comfortably.

"_**What do you think …?" **_

Though the AI didn't specify who it was talking too, everyone in the room knew exactly who it was addressing.

"Mother sent him away for a reason … yet, his arrogance is intriguing." The monster examined the killer with interest. "I say we see what he can do, before we invest in his talents." There was pensiveness to the growl.

"_**Are you willing to demonstrate your abilities?" **_

"Hmm …" The older man groaned out loud. "I never thought you'd ask …." He put his feet down and stood. "In fact I've been working on an audition for you for the last several weeks." He began to make his way to the door.

"Turn to the evening news at ten; you wouldn't want to miss it!"

* * *

The night was bitterly cold and darker than usual, but Sarah Connor was willing to blame it on the fact that the entrance to the bar she was looking for was located in a back alley.

As she got close to her destination she saw a neon sign with the words **"The Sultan of Swing" **on the front of the brick building with a neon projection of an unraveling turban. Next to the front door a girl in a short leather skirt and despite the cold weather she was wearing a sheer top was making out with an older man.

Sarah cleared her throat and averted her eyes from the clear sign of prostitution and entered the bar room.

The inside was dark and a little hazy from smoke. The only light in the entire bar was form the collection of Neon signs on the walls reflecting off the mirror behind the bar. On a small stage at the far end sat a large decorated Christmas tree next to the occupied upright Baby Grand Piano. In the air was the sound of clicking glasses and the Murmur of docile conversation as a man in a fedora and suit vest sat at the piano playing a singer and standard number to accompany the enticing voice of a gorgeous golden haired blond with shiny green eyes and tiny black dress.

The young woman's hopeful gaze was like a beacon for Sarah, helping her find the person she was there to retrieve. She had seen a lot of girls have that look for the man she was looking for since she had gotten to know him and she wasn't sure if she should be proud or worried about it.

Ryan was sitting toward the middle of the bar. He wore a blue threadbare Henley long sleeve shirt that looked a size to big for him and Sarah somehow knew it had to have been John's in the future. His blue jeans looked store bought, but that was the only thing about his clothing that looked new. He sat slumped over a glass of scotch looking at the liquid, half listening in disinterest to a dark haired girl with to much make up, too short dress and possibly too young to be in this kind of establishment.

As Sarah walked up to them she could tell by the snobby accent that the girl lacked the awareness that this wasn't a club in Malibu or that the soldier she was trying to talk into a ride back to her place wasn't a heir to a movie studio.

"I totally have the house to myself for the holiday … and it's got this one room for us to …" she grinned and pushed back some of Ryan's grown out raven curls to whisper in his ear. The man listened to whatever it was the girl was saying, and then took a large swig of his drink, not replying.

"He's spoken for." Sarah had a sharp edge to her voice looming over the teenager.

The girl gave an arrogant snort of superiority that Sarah had seen and even given several times in her privileged youth. The girl however lost the smug look with one good stare into the dangerous glimmer in Sarah's green eyes.

"Beat it …" Sarah motioned the slutty heiress to get lost. The teenager sneered at Sarah's sheer yet soft black shirt covered by a leather waist jacket and tight jeans. Ryan gave Sarah a curious look with a lifted eyebrow, before going back to his drink.

There was a pause before the girl huffed, giving Sarah a defiant look she turned Ryan's head and gave him a deep kiss.

"Next time don't tell the wife where you're going." She said with a wink standing and bumping shoulders with the black haired woman before leaving.

Sarah watched with a scowl as the girl sashayed away from them. She turned and pulled the abandoned stool out of Ryan's personal space and sat next to him, their shoulders touching.

"I hope there's a damn good reason that I'm not getting laid tonight … unless you're planning to grab a hotel room for us." Ryan snorted sarcastically taking a sip of the alcohol.

Sarah sneered, not laughing at his comment and studied his bandaged hand with concern and confusion due to the fact that he didn't have that injury when he left her and Cameron at the diner they dropped the Fields off at.

"What was it this time?" She asked reaching out and touching his bandaged hand. He moved it out of her reach and said nothing letting the perspiring drink wet the bandage.

"It was Silberman …wasn't it?" Sarah turned her head down and studied the polished, yet nicked bar counter.

"Yeah" Ryan nodded rubbing his eyes tiredly with his good hand.

"Did you …?" she didn't look up from the counter.

There was immense guilt that ate at her. When she was in the mental hospital her rants about Judgment Day and the machines where almost tri weekly in her therapy room, but in all that time she never knew that there would be people who would take her so seriously that they would unleash the kind of hell that would turn downtown into ruins with marshal law through out several blocks and neighborhoods in the city. Her and her boy's name was on the lips of killers as they massacre families and citizens and she knew that she couldn't do anything about it for fear that she would be recognized by someone in her haste to put a stop to them. But most of her guilt came from the knowledge that Ryan seemed to be the only one trying to stop them, and Silberman was taking his pound of flesh from the already beleaguered soldier.

"No …" Ryan groaned into his palm. "He got away again." He squinted into his fingers.

"I'm … I'm sorry." Sarah placed a hand on his leather clad arm looking up at him. The man sighed and switched his glass the other hand and placed his bandaged hand over hers.

"It's not your fault … I've seen enough people take "the cause" over the edge more than enough to know that sometimes it just happens." He sighed rubbing her knuckle with his thumb. She could feel pistons click over the top of her hand.

Though she knew that one of his arms was cybernetic, she let out a captured breath and pulled away in surprise at the feeling of the mechanical components.

The shame and sadness in Ryan's eyes at her reaction was enough to make Sarah drive a stake through her heart at the sheer level of hurt she just inflicted her future grandchild.

He switched his injured hand back to the glass and tuned back to the music where the gorgeous blond was now sitting at the piano playing a tune reminiscent of snow falling slowly to the ground, before she broke into a smooth jazz song that somehow fit the cold holiday weather outside.

"Playing hard to get tonight, huh, beautiful?"

Sarah turned to a fat bartender standing across from her and Ryan. She squinted in confusion at his statement, thinking that he might have her mistaken for someone else.

"I'm sorry?" She said, looking at Ryan who shook his head at the bartender with a poignant look that was a silent warning for him to shut his mouth.

The fat man smiled cheekily at her clothing and placed a fruity looking drink That Sarah wouldn't be caught dead drinking in front of her.

"The usual right?" he asked motioning to the drink.

She frowned at the drink in front of her, then back to the bartender who continued to stand in front of her with an expectant look. She turned to Ryan who looked more than a little freaked out with an almost cat swallowed the canary look.

"Hey, Tommy … you got something better to do right now?" Ryan asked angrily.

"Nope …" The large younger man continued to give Sarah a smile that made her think that he knew something about her that she didn't, which made her skin crawl.

The ex officer suddenly snatched the bar towel of the fat man's slumped shoulder and tossed it to the other side of the bar.

"Then go find something!" He growled with displeasure dismissing him with a warning in his voice.

The fat man lightly punched the bar in irritation and walked away muttering about how when Sarah always seems to show up she makes him unfriendly.

"What was that all about?" She asked pushing the drink away from her with a wrinkled nose wanting to make a comment that estrogen threw up all over it.

"Don't worry about it … He thought you were someone else." He seemed to shrug it off, but Sarah could tell when the bartender was making conversation, Ryan was about to sew the fat guys mouth together.

"I guess." Sarah gave him a suspicious look, but knew that there was no point in pressing the matter tonight.

They were silent for several minutes as the beautiful blond continued to sing her heart out in the back ground. Sarah didn't order anything to drink, she just watched Ryan consume his. She pondered what he was like as a little boy or a baby, had she held him as a squishy newborn, did he know her as a child? She could tell how much he loved her by the way he looked at her, but there were also days when he looked at her with a deep pain in his eyes that looked like he could cry if there were any tears left in him.

"So are we going to talk about it…?" Sarah broke the silence lifting her eyebrows at him to make a point.

"Talk about what?" Ryan sighed twirling the ice around in his cup.

"You and me …" She tilted her head with a dead serious look.

"Sure …" Ryan snorted at her face. "I say we forgo the wedding, because let's face it, it's all for show anyway. I'll grab dad's Chevy; you take your Momma's jewelry and savings account. Vegas is only several hours away and after we elope it will be just you and me on the open road … with no one to tell us were to go or what to do. Then when you're with child …"

"You know what I mean!" Sarah cut him off his tangent. "Enough with the bullshit I know who you are …" she thinned her lips at the man.

"Well than what is there to talk about?" Ryan shrugged. "You're my grandmother, I'm your grandson, I love you, and you on occasion put up with me …" He listed off.

"It's becoming a chore at the moment." She glared.

He smiled grimly and shrugged mischievously. Despite herself Sarah smiled too, wondering how she could miss the subtle charm that was all her John Connor.

"Your mom …?" Sarah asked shifting a little closer.

"Selena Gomez" He answered after a moment of thought.

Sarah thought about it, vaguely remembering the teenage Disney star in a magazine Cameron had subscribed to too research the knowledge of pop culture required of a teenage girl.

"Really?" She was dumb founded a moment.

"Sure, why not …" Ryan signaled for another drink.

It took a second for Sarah to release that Ryan was screwing with her. She punched him on the patch on his sleeve with a bruised pride.

"Christ!" He rubbed his arm with a small teasing laugh.

"What did I just say?" Sarah retorted with a menacing tilt of her head.

"Look, if I told you who my mom is, then you're going to other freak out, or royally fuck me over … So you're just going to have to freaking wait and see." He rubbed his arm with a hiss of repressed air.

Sarah relented, agreeing with the sentiment.

"Do I like her?" She decided to start back a little smaller.

"No" It didn't take Ryan more then a beat to answer her as if she had asked him if there was gravity in space.

"Good … I would be worried if you said yes." Sarah wasn't kidding; she could always find a reason to dislike John's girl friends. Sequoia smoked too much pot, the girl Cameron Phillips that her boy told her about in a Pizza Hut in Red Valley was a distraction to John all that night, Sherri Weston treated her baby like a leper (Not that Sarah asked around about the girl at John and Cameron's high school when they called in sick one day.), and Riley was just to damn stupid.

"I bet you would have his children if he let you?" Ryan snorted sarcastically as Marty walked by and set a beer in front of him with an angry scowl.

"There is an experiment at Caltech next week." Sarah snatched the beer out of Ryan's hand and drank it hiding the playful smile.

The soldier frowned at her with a confused look. Suddenly Sarah realized that her dry humor didn't exactly sound all that sarcastic as she tried to make it.

"It was a joke …" she swallowed the crap beer.

"Lets hope so." He cleared his throat. "Last thing I need it to be is my own uncle." Ryan took back the beer.

There was another pause in the conversation as Sarah pondered leaving the wisecracking to John and not partake in it for a little while.

"So I'm guessing that you didn't actually come down here to cock block and plot to make future me more vulnerable to genetic disorders all night? Because if you did that would be really harsh." Ryan took a swig of his beer and turning to wait for her response.

Sarah bit her lip and half shrugged awkwardly, taking his beer again.

"I came to bring you back to the house." She took a swig.

"Did you guys get a new lead?" he perked up at her hopefully. Sarah looked as awkward as she felt shifting in her seat.

"No" she swallowed the alcohol and cleared her throat. "It's Christmas Eve and …" the beautiful woman didn't quiet know how to go about saying what she wanted.

"You want me to come to the family get together." Ryan finished her sentence for her with a snort. "I thought you were famous for not being that big on holidays." He took the bottle back from her.

"I'm not … it's just this is our first true family Christmas and I think that you should be there." She tilted her head, connecting to that maternal wave that made it possible for the warrioress to have these conversations.

Ryan gave her a sad smile and turned down to the bar and gave a mournful pause.

"Look …" He sighed. "I appreciate the sentiment more than you realize and … I sorely tempted to go and laugh it up. But …" he paused with a deep emotion to his voice that she had never heard before. "You, and Da … John, You're not my family … at least the family I know." He shook his head. "I buried most of the people in your house with my own hands … and to see them youthful and laughing … it would make me less than merry." He made a motion to look at her, but instead he looked to the counter to as if looking into Sarah's eyes would hurt him more than any Skynet weapon ever could.

There was apart of Sarah that wanted to go to the man and hold him just like she had done time and time again for John, but she didn't act on the feelings she just let herself speak, before she could stop herself.

"You shouldn't be alone tonight …" she said in a docile tone, needing him to feel better.

Ryan gave a breathy laugh at her comment and surrendered a small smile.

"I won't … you see that emerald jewel?" he motioned to the immensely beautiful woman singing at the piano with all her tumbled Long golden curled glory. "I'm not blind; she's been trying to get my attention all night. She'll be over here in a little bit …" he clapped her on the back with a shady smile.

There was a pause between the two before she blinked.

"Not good enough." Sarah motioned Marty for a drink like Ryan had.

"What do you mean?" Ryan glared.

"If you're not coming home for Christmas, then I guess it's just going to be you and me tonight." She removed her jacket and waited for her drink.

"What happened to this being you're first family Christmas?" He frowned watching her sway to the music as if getting into the mood as she tapped on the counter to the beat.

"Well, it's not really a family Christmas if one of them doesn't show up, so two doesn't matter that much."

A drink was placed in front of her to which she nodded in thanks and took a sip and winced. "Damn this stuff burns." She coughed.

"Yeah, that's all I'm use to in the future … so what you're saying is that you're not going to spend Christmas eve with Dad and Derek, but sit here all night with me and most likely scare away every girl here … this is what I'm getting from this?" he made a gesture to Sarah looking loose.

"Yep …" Sarah wiggle her eyebrows at him shifting closer when a girl approached Ryan.

The officer gave a defeated sigh when the girl walked away quickly.

* * *

The sound of a George Bailey screaming Merry Christmas echoed through the Connor living room. The sight of the large decorated Christmas tree that looked like the North Pole threw up on it sat tinkling with tinsel and ball decorations.

In the rainbow of colors that hued the otherwise darkened the room Derek Reese sat on the couch staring blankly at the Television, watching Bailey run through the streets of Bedford Falls in a joyful mood that he was alive.

The unshaven man had dark circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep that came from the pain in his leg and the pain in his heart from the fresh words that Jesse had told him when he hobbled to her hotel to tell her that he was crippled for life and that he needed talk to her about there relationship.

He wouldn't forget the look Jesse gave his cane or what she said to him about not being the man she fell in love with anymore, while showing him the picture of him and Sarah kissing on the bench in front of Century.

"_You know what Derek? My only comfort is that Sarah will only get half the man I had!" _

He lowered his head watching Jimmy Steward's pumping his legs to reach the woman he loved, things that Derek Reese would never have or be able to do again. He ran a hand over his wooden cane pensively and then shook his head.

Suddenly the light to the hallway flipped on blinding him momentarily.

"What the hell!" He growled shielding his eyes shut. It took a moment to readjust to the light before he looked up to find Cameron standing in the hall checking her reflection in the hallway mirror.

"I didn't see you sitting there …" She said with a distracted voice redoing a portion of her make up. Derek couldn't help but hear the lack of an apology.

"Of course not" He muttered, noticing that she seemed to have changed out of her tank top and track shorts and into a pretty red satin dress and curled her hair and applied a classy amount of make up.

"You going to Midnight Mass or something?" Derek asked observing her formal dress that he would never admit she looked great in.

"No …" Cameron reapplied some lip gloss. "John said this is a party and my sources say that you should look "Spicy" when at these events." She explained.

"And these sources wouldn't have Selena Gomez on it and have 17 on the title?" He snorted mockingly at her. Cameron merely blinked at him and moved into the living room. "And point of fact With Sarah god knows where and John picking up Miley …"

"Riley" Cameron corrected

Whatever … look around you this doesn't seem to be the most happening place in the city." He gestured all around him.

"John should be back in a moment and Sarah went to go bring Ryan back." Cameron answered. Derek laughed grimly at the last statement.

"The kid and Sarah probably will have a better time at whatever rundown bar he's trying to get drunk in, then we are here." Derek thought he could use a loose woman at the moment, that or Sarah, but that was more for later.

"John says that Sarah has a reputation for ruining fun events, so I doubt that Ryan won't show up." Cameron went into the kitchen.

"_He's not wrong." _

Derek didn't need the reminder of their first and last family game night where Sarah nearly drove herself nuts trying to out maneuver Cameron in Risk, which ended with her storming off and John winning anyway.

"We never played and we never played since …" He mused out loud.

KNOCK

KNOCK

"Yo, Metal …" Derek called to Cameron at the sound of the front door. There was no reply. "Hey … can you get the door!" he yelled into the kitchen, but there was no reply again.

KNOCK

KNOCK

"Well I guess I'll get then …" He grumbled bitterly as he pushed himself painfully to his feet and limped to the front door.

"Okay thanks!" Cameron called to him from the kitchen.

"Oh, but you heard that!" Derek shouted to the kitchen as he opened the door.

In the doorway Charlie Dixon was in his usual tight T-shirt, motorcycle jacket, and Jeans carrying two presents wrapped in green and red wrapping paper. Both Derek and Charlie traded looks of pure loathing in there moment of unhappy silence at the sight of one another.

"Are you going to let me in?" Charlie asked having to balance one of the larger boxes that looked bulky.

Derek took a cue from his roommate and blinked once before he shut the door and limped back to the couch.

At the same moment Cameron gave into the room with a stack of presents and was sporting a displeased look that seemed to be private.

"What is it Asshole day?" Derek sighed to her.

"Must be …" she replied shortly as Riley entered the room with John.

Apparently the blond seemed to be of the opinion that a Christmas sweater with her leggings and a Blue jean skirt was cute. John had told her it was, but one look at Cameron's outfit and the angelic beauty asking if she knitted it herself and it made Riley suddenly self conscious.

"Was that someone at the door?" John asked looking to Derek.

It took all the soldier had not to answer the young man honestly, now that he was starting to spike his hair like he will in the future and sporting some scruff as not to be left out by the rest of the males in his life, though Sarah had many reservations about it.

"I can't remember." He shrugged and sat on the couch. John frowned at his uncle's blatant lie that he could see through.

KNOCK

KNOCK

"Nice …" John sighed in irritation at the man and walked to the front door.

Alone momentarily with the girls, Derek noticed that the usual icy glare of hatred that Riley usually directed to the cyborg laying presents under the tree was now directed at him solely. It was a look that said that he other hurt someone she loved or he shot her dog, he was willing to say that on some cases both were expectable.

John waddled back with a large wrapped box in his arms trailed by Charlie who cut the lieutenant a spiteful look. However one displeased stare from Cameron and the EMS quickly shift priorities in who to focus his attention on.

It took a force of awkward small talk and chit chat mostly started by himself for John to realize that in his attempt to organize his dream family Christmas that he might over looked the fact that the people sitting in the living room trying to ignore one another was due to they all hated one another.

Derek hated Charlie and Charlie hated Derek, Cameron hated Riley and Riley hated Cameron, Derek and Cameron could barely be left unsupervised in the same room and Charlie seemed to always be on John's protector's bad side. Not to mention that Riley seemed to have nothing, but antipathy for his uncle as of tonight.

Suddenly it struck the future leader of the resistance that it was now fitting that they were all sitting watching "**How****the****Grinch****Stole****Christmas**" without a sound being spoken.

"_**You're a mean one Mr. Grinch."**_

Suddenly the front door opened to the house breaking the deadly cold silence filling the room.

"You didn't actually have to hit her … she was into me since I've been coming there."

"Look, Momma had many issues, but being fat and ugly were the only ones that weren't among them. Plus that blond bitch's singing was off key … someone had to hit her before she ruined everyone's Christmas."

"You caveman …"

Ryan came into the room with two bottles of wine in each hand with a lopsided smile for Sarah who bumped his shoulder with a playful grim carrying a case of beer under her arm.

There bonding moment ended when they felt the Artic chill in the air. They both stood in the entrance while everyone stared at them from there seats.

Sarah would have been happy to be somewhere else at the moment if it meant that she didn't have to see Derek and Charlie sitting in the same room waiting for her.

Ryan gave a good look at the company then let out a loud snort.

"And I wasn't going to come tonight."

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

_**I think one of the perks of making this a two part chapter is that in part two I won't have to cut out a lot of stuff, such as Cameron and Ryan's discussion about his most memorable Christmas with her and John or the Derek/Sarah/Charlie stuff that will come to fruition in the next part, and as always more trying to get people to buy into Jameron. **_

_**Alright so unless you didn't read Purpose than the bad guy in this chapter and his relationship to Kate means little to you, but if you did then you know that he's about to change the whole pace of the story. **_

_**Ryan and Sarah will be a fixture in these two parts and Ryan flirting with Sarah is more apart of the characters charm (No matter who it is.) **_

_**I would love you guys to give me some feed back on Derek being crippled for life, I thought it would be an interesting as well as an untouched thing in the show, that with all the stuff the Connor's are going through that someone isn't going to get maimed permanently. Also Derek won't be the last in the family to be permanently scared physically in this story.**_

_**Like I said I'm sorry if this seems unfinished but I promise I'm not going to drop this story. **_


	14. Auld Lang Syne

**So I'm back and will try to get back on to a regular schedule of posting chapters. **

**So these next couple chapters will be very dark … really dark as it's wont to be when Steel is on the loose in these stories. **

**I Also hope that I've written some award winning Jameron in these truly dark chapters. **

Auld Lang Syne

There was very little conversation that followed the entrance of Ryan and Sarah. However there was little argument that the alcohol that they had bought was a god send after a dead silent start to the party, however after a couple of beers the party goers started to loosen up and attempted small talk to a certain degree.

"So …" Charlie Dixon walked up to Ryan who was serving himself several slices of pizza with a plastic glass of eggnog between his teeth. The leather jacket clad figure flicked his eyes to the buzz headed man with a look of pure loathing.

"How's the wound?" Charlie asked, awkwardly. The younger man shrugged almost dismissively at his quarry. "Well I'm kind of a specialist on burn injuries." He motioned to the soldier's hand.

"Listen, Dick …" Ryan put his cup in his now free hand.

"It's Dixon …" the EMS corrected flatly.

"Sorry, it's just that you look so much like a _Dick_ to me …" the ex officer snorted sarcastically, which he received a glare from the man next to him. "I doubt this injury is going to be fixed by your Ambulance equipment." He lifted his brows and moved back to the living room.

Seeing this as a challenge to his skills and work ethic, the paramedic pursued Ryan into the living room determinedly.

'I doubt that … I think you just don't like the fact that I can fix it and you can't!" he called in an uncharacteristic shot of frustration at the arrogance and surly nature of John's men (and cyborg) in the future who treat him like garbage and keep him away from Sarah. In fact Charlie wondered if the only reason that Sarah was avoiding him was because she kept them to close to see that he was the one that she should take comfort in, not the hard ass, traumatized men of John Connor's army.

Ryan snorted again and placed his plate in front of Cameron who seemed to be taken with "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" However, she took her focus to the two men when she heard that her future son had an injury.

"Tell me, Fuzzy … do you have an engineering degree from MIT in cybernetics?" he asked the EMT with a raised eyebrow. Charlie gave an angered growl at the nickname that the younger man had bestowed on him.

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?" He asked, crossing his arms.

The Captain gave a half smile and began to unwrap his bandaged hand to show Charlie his meaning. The man twitched an eyebrow and leaned a closer to get a better look at the injury.

"Oh shit!" He jumped back from the sight of the cybernetics under the black and crusted skin of his palm and several fingers.

Everyone in the room looked up at the Charlie with alarmed faces as he backed away from Ryan with a terrified face at the inhuman sight he just saw. Sarah came up and gave her grandchild a glare and went to tend to Charlie.

Cameron gave a ghost of a smile at the older man who she hadn't liked since he insulted and mocked her in the shed of their old house when she was burning Vick's endoskeleton. But it went away when she saw that Ryan wasn't smiling as he sat on the couch next to her looking a little ashamed not at scaring Dixon, but at the metal hand.

"I can help you fix it, if you like?" She looked down at the hand tilting her head at the scorched pistons and skin. Ryan gave a sad smile at her suggestion.

"Well, It is your hand … sort of." he gave a breathed laugh. She turned her head slightly as the statement seemed to bring him down a little farther.

Seeing the sadness, Cameron gave him a sympathetic look, and then with a blink she reached over and rebandaged the hand gently, when she was done she took it in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. Both traded smiles, before the cyborg took one of his pizza slices.

The smile his future mother gave him somehow launched Ryan into a Christmas memory that the man would never forget.

* * *

_The arrival back at home plate wasn't quite the home coming the little boy of eight years of age was expecting._

_Ryan wasn't sure what he had expected after three years of fostering in Master Lo's Dojo, while Skynet launched it's deadly offensive against the Resistance's defenses, but being ignored by all around him as if he was some tunnel rat looking for scraps wasn't one of them. _

_He saw people he recognized that didn't seem to give him a second a glance, while it was only three years ago that the women would smile at him and the men would offer a high five. Maybe they hadn't recognized him? Ryan wondered if he had changed so much in three years, because he didn't feel any different physically though now he knew advanced Jujitsu and staff fighting. _

_What the moppy haired little boy was hoping for was to see his mom and dad again. He had sailed on a large ship on his own, among a resistance unit back to California and had made the trek back home mostly by himself like a big boy, no, like a man. He had wrote saying his training was done and that he was coming home, but their was never a response. Now that he was home he was starting to get scared that something had happened to his mom, but never his dad, nothing could hurt John Connor. _

_The boy felt lonely and sad as he trudged tiredly into the long hallway of the officer's quarters, his pack jingling as he sought out his family's room. He had been told in one of his dad's letters (His mommy never wrote.) that they got promoted to bigger quarters after the victory at the Battle of Whispering Heights._

_He stopped at the large end room door that had his parent's names on it. He knocked several times with anticipation, but there was no answer. He didn't think his heart could sink any lower._

_Curiously, he pulled down on the handle and pushed the heavy door open with great effort. After he squeezed in, the young boy strained to close it behind him. _

_The room was larger, then the quarters he remembered, and a little more spacious. He spotted that instead of a cot like before, His mom and dad had a bed now, though they only had one pillow amongst them, though it hadn't been an issue as his mom laid her head on his father's chest at night or his father used his mom's belly as his pillow when he slept like Ryan use to when he was really tired. They had slide able closet doors and on the far end near the foot of the bed was a metal chair and desk. _

_The desk had a framed picture of his grandmother Sarah Connor who looked about his mom's age in a tight sweater and short colorful skirt and a bow in her hair that his dad said was a cheerleader uniform (Whatever that was.). The teenage queen was posing for the professional camera with a pretty, but in truth a heart broken smile. The picture always made Ryan hurt on the inside and he once asked his mom if they had any pictures of her were she didn't look so sad. His dad answered for her, saying that sad things always happened to her no matter how old she was and afterward he thought he saw a tear fall out of his dad's eye as he held the picture. _

_Ryan looked around to make sure no one was watching, before he picked up the frame and hugged it as if the girl was the frame and he was trying to give her as much love as he could, after a moment he put it back on the desk and cleared his throat. _

_The boy removed his bag and slung it on the chair, feeling so light that the air condition could blow him over. He sat on the bed feeling it squishy and soft._

_There was silence around him with the sound of footsteps going and passing outside the door. He gave a deep breath and took a good look around the organized room. He noticed that his mom and dad hadn't decorated for Christmas like they always use to. It sort of made him feel sad but also a little scared. _

_What if they weren't like the mommy and daddy he remembered? What if they decided after three years that they don't want him anymore? He had never heard his mom say she loved him, and there was sometimes that his dad was gone for weeks. _

_Ryan sniffled a little, his warm dark eyes leaking a tear that he stubbornly wiped away with the sleeve of his overly big faded hooded jacket. He pulled off his boots and laid back on the bed, adjusting himself on the mattress and buried his face into the soft pillow. He could smell the sweet scent of his mother's hair that made him smile. _

_He curled into a small ball and stared at the sixteen year old cheerleader on the desk, wondering what she would have done if he had used the time machine that his mom had to safe his dad when they where younger than the girl in the picture to 1982 and gave the beauty a hug. _

"_I would save her …" he muttered as he fell asleep._

_He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but the last little boy checked he didn't think his pillow had a silk case over it. He felt a hand run through his moppy black curls soothingly which made him not want to open his eyes. _

_But he blinked them open anyway despite the mental protest. He got an eyeful of lights of a Christmas tree in the corner of the room with some decorations on it. Under the tree was a big and slender box. Ryan craned down to see that his head was no longer on the pillow, but on the breast of a woman clad in a familiar white silk of a sundress. _

_When he looked up he saw an angelic face of a doe brown eyed girl with matching dark eyes and curled brown hair._

"_Momma?" a tear sung Ryan's cheek. Cameron gave a ghost of a smile and brushed a strayed lock of hair out of his eyes. It took him a whole minute to realize that it wasn't a dream. _

_He smiled broadly and with tears he crawled up on Cameron and wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face in her hair. The girl gave an awkward hug to him as if not sure how to respond to the situation, which was proof enough to Ryan that it truly was his mom. _

_It could have been an hour or it could have been a full ten minutes that the boy held on to Cameron, till he finally let go and looked at her. _

"_You … haven't aged a day?" Ryan said in sudden realization that his mother hadn't changed one bit since the day he left. _

"_I seldom do." She answered honestly with a deadpanned voice. _

_The frown on the little boys face only lasted a moment before a smile broke over. He had learned to except his mom's strange sense of humor a longtime ago and he giggled at her statement and kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly again. _

"_We were going to meet you when you got here, but your father suggested that we decorate for Christmas before you get home, but you arrived while we were looking for a tree." Cameron explained no longer returning the hug. _

"_You could have woken me up when you got home." Ryan's voice was muffled into the base of her neck. _

"_You needed your rest … it was a long journey back." She responded sitting up. _

_There was an awkward silence as he sat in her lap and she stared at him almost like how the old T-500's scanned people. He never told anyone, but sometimes he felt like his mom could be a machine with just the way she would stare at him, or even just touch him and could immediately tell when he was sick or if he was nervous about something. _

"_I got you a present …" Ryan looked up at Cameron who tilted her head at the claim. _

"_Is it tight?" _

"_I hope so …" _

_The boy shrugged and slid off his mother's lap and went to the chair and dug through his bag before he pulled out a large purple jewel on a silver chain and handed it to her._

"_I was foraging through the mountain passes for the Dojo and I came across this village where Skynet's machines had went on a rampage and there was this old woman looking for her granddaughter and I told her that I would find her, and when I did the old lady gave me that as token of appreciation when I told her that I didn't want to marry her granddaughter." Ryan laughed at the memory as Cameron stared at it blankly. "The color of the jewel reminded me of you …" the boy said hopefully._

"_This can be a target …" Cameron said in a chastising tone. "It's easy to pick out on the battlefield." She handed it back to her son with an open palm. Ryan dipped his head not taking it back. _

"_You don't have to wear it on the battlefield." He muttered. _

"_If I wore it in the tunnels, then people would think that there was more valuable things in our room and than we would be robbed." she countered._

"_Fine!" Ryan snapped and snatched the necklace out of his mother's hand and pocketed it bitterly. "I'll hide it …" he growled tossing his bag off the chair and plopped down on it turning his back to Cameron staring at Sarah's picture trying to hide the tears of his disappointment. _

_Several moments later he felt a slender hand reach into his pocket and pull the jewel out. Ryan turned misty eyes to find his mother looking down at him with a sympathetic look. _

"_I got you a present too." She offered with a slight smile. "You can open it if you want …" she motioned to the tree with an innocence that hurt Ryan when he went back to Sarah. _

"_Only if you wear it … at least once." Ryan motioned to the necklace in Cameron's hand. _

_She twitched her lip and smoothly unraveled the chain and looped it over her neck and onto her cleavage where it sat snuggly, fitting perfectly to the girl's attire and complexion. _

_They both paused for a moment sharing an identical coy smile that made Ryan feel good. He slipped off the chair and toward the lit Christmas tree where the large box sat. He looked back at his mother to which she nodded solemnly pointing to the big box. _

_Ryan plopped down on his knees and dragged the box till his back was against Cameron's ankles where she sat straight backed on the bed looking down at the boy. He looked up and grinned to which she smiled back. _

_He turned and untied the ribbon on the box and pulled off the lid. His face was shocked when he reached in and pulled out a new looking large dark brown leather jacket with buttons. He turned back to Cameron with astonishment. _

"_Your grandmother use to wear a male leather coat just like this one when I first met her … she had always meant to give it to your father, but it got ruined and we ended up leaving it behind in a warehouse garage in Los Angeles. So, since I can't give you my purple jacket I found something that I can give you of the same symbolic significances, it was suppose to be you're birthday gift, but I think today is just as appropriate." She explained staring at the jacket. _

_Ryan was speechless and didn't think that moment couldn't get any better. _

"_I don't know, Angel, I think he might need sometime to grow into it more … what do you think?" _

_Ryan turned to the doorway at the sound of the deep yet youthful voice that he knew all to well. Leaning on the doorframe was a tall and broad young man with hard emerald eyes and thick stubble. His light brown hair was spiked and there was a deep smile on his brilliantly handsome face. He dressed in a plain black T-shirt and fatigue pants with brown motorcycle boots. _

"_Daddy!" Ryan shouted with joy, he stuttered to his feet and Jumped into the waiting powerful arms of John Connor. _

"_Hey, Cowboy!" He laughed hugging the boy tight, kissing his temple and bury one of his large hands into the moppy black curls on his boy's head. _

_Cameron smiled broadly. Standing with a dancer's grace, she moved toward the two. John effortlessly shifted the boy to one arm and reached out and stroked the purple gem in Cameron's cleavage. _

"_I've died and gone to heaven." John said seriously getting a good look at Cameron. The girl only smiled brighter and took his hand off the purple stone and placed it on her cheek. John took his arm and pulled Cameron tightly to him. _

_Being sandwiched between his mom and dad in a hug was one of the best presents the little boy could have asked for. _

_

* * *

_

Ryan wiped away a tear out of his eye with the old leather of his brown jacket.

Not thinking, moving more on instincts of his eight year old self, Ryan leaned over and kissed the cyborg on the head and placed an arm around her as he leaned back on the couch. Cameron leaned back as well eating contently, liking the affection that had been avoided since the day John carried his shredded body home.

"I didn't realize Cameron was so close with you guys uncle …"

"_Damn it!" _

Both future Connor's gave Riley and John a tight smile as they walked up. Riley seemed to have fake interest in it, while John couldn't seem to hide his suspicious and some what jealous stare for the soldier who had an arm lovingly around Cameron.

The ex officer tried to play up his cover story as Sarah's younger brother, which came from Derek who pointed out that it could work seeing as that he had Sarah's hair and seemed to have a striking resemblance to Cameron, bridging the gap between the fact that Sarah and Cameron don't look alike.

"Yeah … I mean, she's my niece … I helped deliver her." Ryan said unevenly.

"_I didn't just say that!" _

"You delivered John and Cameron?" Riley sounded interested in the potential story of the twins birth, while John began to choke on his eggnog and Cameron stopped mid bite of Ryan's pizza.

"Oh … yeah … totally, it was just me and Sarah there in South …"

"Central!"

"Central America …" Ryan raised his index finger when he was corrected by John and Cameron together.

"You must have been like what fourteen?" the blond asked trying to get him to tell the story with a face that said she didn't buy it one bit, as if she knew that Ryan wasn't in fact Sarah's younger brother at all.

"Sure … maybe." He flicked to John, then to Cameron for any sort of help they might offer.

"Yeah, I don't think he wants to talk about that … I mean he got a lot more of mom, than he ever wanted to see." John cleared his throat and nudged Riley. Ryan pointed to John with acknowledgement and a nod.

"There are some things you can't unsee …" Ryan whispered in a traumatized voice. Riley nodded as if understanding, to which John and Cameron followed.

"Hey …" Sarah walked up to the small group, happy to see some conversation going on in the house. "What you guys talking about?" she smiled and crossing her arms.

There was a silence between everyone as if choosing who was going to walk the plank first. It was at this time that Cameron decided that it should be everyone.

"Your vagina …" She said with a polite smile.

The sound of eggnog shooting through John's nose and onto the back of Riley's Christmas sweater filled the living room.

"Uh, John!" Riley called in surprise at the white drenched sweater and blond hair.

"Sorry …" John glared at the small satisfied look on Cameron's otherwise emotionless face.

Sarah stood with a puzzled look not quiet following the conversation. "Wait, your talking about my what?" she didn't think she heard right.

Cameron came to the same conclusion.

"Vagina , Cudder, Vagjayjay, Baby door, Cunt …"

John slammed a hand on Cameron's thigh. "Hey, when her face turns red in embarrassed rage … that means she gets it." He explained to Cameron, who nodded.

Sarah turned too glared at the group with an anger that was past the word bloody murder.

"I'm going up stairs to go … wash this stain out." Riley slipped out. Angrily Sarah turned back to her "Children" all of them.

John and Ryan immediately at the same time pointed to each other at the sight of the Sarah Connor death stare, While Cameron gave an innocent face of an angel. Both Ryan and John began to push their hands down, which looked like a slap fight.

"Hey, Cam … you want your Christmas present?" John asked as Sarah approached.

"It's not Christmas day yet …"

"Hey it's five o'clock somewhere."

"Actually ..."

John grabbed Cameron by the hand before she could finish her correction and tugged her to her feet, pulling her up the stairs. That left Ryan sitting alone with Sarah looming above him.

"I gotta go talk to Derek …" Ryan cleared his throat and pointed to the front porch and stood to leave.

While he walked nervously he felt arms hug from behind with the strength of a pissed off boa constrictor and a chin dug into his shoulder muscle.

"If you want a good look at it … all you have to do is ask." There was a dangerous tone to Sarah's sarcastic voice as she whispered into his ear like a serial killer.

"I'll remember that." Ryan strained.

Sarah reached up and patted his cheek three times with slap like force before she kissed the red mark and let him go.

He gave her an embarrassed two finger salute, exiting the house.

* * *

John and Cameron had been alone in his too small bedroom for several minutes. The room was quiet and still as John sat on the bed concentrating on the ground really hard, his hormones pulling him in every different direction. This was what he had been avoiding since Cameron set down the rules between them. She was alone in his room, with no one there to see him kiss her, to see him rip her dress open and …

"So …!" John cleared his throat and looked at Cameron who had set herself at task to disassemble Riley's protector Lego robot, with prejudice.

"So" Cameron said looking up pulling off the head of the robot with snap.

Looking into her eyes, John forgot what he was going to say, or what he was even supposed to be doing. All he could think was how much he wanted to kiss her and to feel the skin of her stomach under his palm again.

"What?" He cleared his throat.

"You wanted to give me a present …" she said taking her Lego filled skirt and dumped them in the toy box near the closet.

"Right …" John said nervously, trying to avoid staring at the slight exposure to Cameron's showing black panties as she pouched the blocks in her skirt.

Cameron turned and examined the young hero, seeing the nervousness coming off him like the smell of powdered cheese on a crunchy cheesy puff. She gave him a bright and reassuring smile that in turn made him grin as well.

"I'm sure I'll like it … it will never be a horrible present as long as it comes from you."

John's eyes watered slightly at the words, yet he wasn't sure why. He felt a rise of emotions that cleared away the hormones and left him just wanting to spend the rest of his life with the girl in front of him.

"I'll get it, Just a moment." He stood and cleared his love stung eyes and walked toward the door. In front of him stood Cameron who stepped in his way when she saw the tears fall ever so slightly from his misty green eyes.

"Did I do this?" She asked, reaching out and touching his damp cheek. He let her hand linger on his soft teenage stubble a moment looking into her brown eyes one more time. After a moment she returned the stare.

"I'm sorry …"Cameron apologized.

"Don't be …"

John took Cameron's hand off his cheek and gently kissed it. She watched and despite the confusion of why it was okay for her to make him cry she smiled gently.

After a moment he patted her waist for her to move, to which she complied. John opened his closet door and pulled another Lego box up and stepped on it revealing a hidden door above the main door frame. With a strained grunt he opened the door and smiled slightly. He pulled out a long rectangular box wrapped in shiny purple wrapping paper.

He climbed down the box and marched back into the room and walked back to the bed and placed the long slender package on the bed. Cameron walked up and waited for John's okay to grasp it, which she did when he motioned for her to open it.

She ran a slender hand over the wrapping paper that seemed to glisten with purple shine on her cheeks. John watched on with a smile as he backed up to his closet door and leaned against the frame.

Turning the box over, Cameron methodically removed the tape that held the folds together. When John let out a snicker at the time it was taking for her to unwrap the present, she turned to him with a chastising glare.

"I like the wrapping paper …"

John put up his hands defensively, letting her go at her own pace.

When Cameron finally removed the sheet of paper that took John all of Saturday to wrap, it revealed a white slender box.

When she removed the lid, it took her a moment of staring before she reacted. The girl ran a hand over the item.

"So what do you think?" John asked.

Cameron turned and gave him one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen in his life.

* * *

The outside of the large brick home that housed the Connor family was quite cold, colder than Derek Reese would expect in California, but not a cold he wasn't use to.

In fact in the dark of the night in the climate he could almost feel the need to rush out on a mission for John, or go on a search and destroy recon. But the blinding pain in his thigh brought him back to reality. He swigged his beer hoping that the numbing would go more to his leg and not so much to his head.

He looked out at the city lights of Los Angeles never quiet expecting to see the metropolis not in ruins that he had become accustom to since his second semester in high school.

"_It's seems too different …" _

He mused silently with a nasal breath that filled the air with white haze that looked like steam. He listened to the sound of his cane click against the souls of his shoes, going back and forth like the rocking gold knob of a grandfather clock.

Jesse wasn't picking up again; it had been a week since the two had gotten into it about Sarah and his leg. In truth Derek didn't feel like he had the right to be as broken up as he was about their split. He had gone there to break up with Jesse, it wasn't her fault she beat him too it and with good reason. Derek wasn't the unfaithful kind, when a Reese chose a lady it was for life, so when the woman he once loved raised the picture of him and Sarah kissing on the century bench he couldn't help but feel that he hadn't just betrayed Jesse, but the entire generations of Reese men before him.

But what truly was the origin of his sadness was that he might have won Sarah, but at what cost? The woman who had loved him, his leg, the memory of his brother? All those things plagued Derek Reese's mind, Plus the one constant. Was it right to make Sarah wait hand and foot for a cripple? Despite the doom and brood that Sarah Connor surrounded herself with, she was still a beautiful woman full of energy, that jogged and ran miles at a time and never been one to think twice about dropping _dead weight_.

"Is that what I am now, dead weight?" Derek looked mournfully to his leg.

"the only dead weight is in that head of yours …"

Derek smiled grimly at the voice of Ryan who walked to the brick balcony he was sitting on and perched himself on the edge next to his great-uncle.

"You're getting as good as the metal at stealth …" Derek commented to the soldier who smirked at the distaste in his tone at the mention of Cameron.

"I wonder why that is?" Ryan chuckled to himself quietly.

"I wouldn't want to know." The crippled man responded with another distasteful grunt.

There was a silence that over took them as they watched the skyline pensively, taking turns at tensing at the buzz of an aircraft overhead, or the sound of a vehicles echo through the darkness.

"It's hard to look at it and not remember how it will look in a couple of years." Derek spoke out loud when he felt he needed to find someone who could understand the things he went through on a base level.

"I hear that …" Ryan nodded drinking some eggnog.

"I remember a couple of months ago a plane flew by on a low pass and without thinking I took Sarah to the ground anticipating the strafing run." Derek scratched his stubble and smiled when he heard his companion give a laugh.

"How bad did she take it?" The soldier's voice sounded like an echo into his plastic cup.

"Like a champ … well, a heavy weight champ … I think I still have a bruised rib." He chuckled.

"Sounds about right." Ryan nodded with a snort.

Another pause entered the conversation as the soldier enjoyed the beverages that they thought they wouldn't taste at some point in their lives.

"What do you remember about pre Judgment day?" Derek asked curiously, wondering if he or Sarah would come up.

"Not much …" Ryan sighed with a hint of sorrow. "Flashes mostly, nameless places and faces." He shrugged.

"Huh" Derek swigged his beer watching a raccoon skitter into Kacy's backyard.

"Though I do remember sitting on my mom's lap while she was reading the newspaper and stealing some sips of her chocolate milk when she wasn't looking …" he smiled melancholy at the memory. "Dad laughed when she finally caught me … she was wearing that white silk sundress of hers, which meant that she was less strict on those days, though I never knew why." Ryan laughed and shook his head.

"You mean the one that John had in his office in the glass case?" Derek looked up at him.

"That's the one …" he nodded taking another sip of his eggnog. "After she left, he use to stare at it for hours at a time." He sighed bitterly.

"He missed her." Derek clinked his bottle against his cane.

"Yeah I guess …" Ryan trailed off, closing the subject of John Connor's beloved future wife for the night.

Time passed as the sound of music being turned up at Kacy's house, prompting Derek to ponder if Bruce Springsteen had ever released a Christmas album.

"How is your theater of the war going?" Derek asked.

Ryan shook his head with his wariness showing for the first time in awhile. "There's too many leads to follow … I feel like someone is running me ragged on purpose, trying to beak me and there is nothing I can do to stop them." He stared at his hand with a voice of youthful gravel that made Derek think that he was sitting next to Lieutenant General John Connor for a moment.

"Red Mask and her Murder's row?" Derek pushed.

"Possibly … but she's got Skynet into a corner." He replied to the other soldier's query.

"Not the worst news I heard tonight." Derek replied finishing his beer with a sigh of satisfaction.

There was a foreboding tone in Ryan's voice that gave Derek pause. "You know more than anyone what happens when Skynet is backed in the corner … it lashes out in cataclysmic ways or have you forgotten that business at Eagle Rock?"

Dead teenage lovers in rags spooning in a bunk bed, holding each other in their arms desperately flashed through Derek's mind as did a pregnant mother with her litter of children pressed to her all dead also.

"Skynet brings nukes to gunfights … I know" Derek nodded.

"Yeah well if you ask me it's only a matter of time before that bastard does something stupid that will put all of us in danger." Ryan had a cautious tone that set the mood from nostalgic to prophetic in one foul swoop.

"Yeah …"

There was a silent pause that once again claimed the front porch as the occupants sat with their own thoughts that plagued each with their own interpretation of the events that might unfold.

"Well …" Ryan sighed after a moment. "J-day won't be tonight." He rubbed his stubble thoughtfully. "It will be better for everyone if we leave the war for another day." He turned his head toward Derek.

"You're not wrong …" Derek replied with a nod and with a grunt he twisted around and with a painful exhale of breath, he stepped on the cold tiles of the porch with his cane to steady him. "I'm going inside." He announced to the younger officer who still sat where he was.

"Go ahead …" Ryan nodded. "I'm gonna stay out here a little while longer." There was pensiveness to his tone that caused Derek to lift his eyebrows in interest.

"Suit yourself."

Ryan heard the door open than close leaving him alone with nothing but the animals and the sounds of the city rumbling from afar.

Yet for all the stillness it felt like something wasn't quiet right about the night, he couldn't put his finger on what it is, but he knew somewhere below in the city there was something that was waiting to pounce.

"Something is on the prowl tonight…"

* * *

John stood outside Cameron's bedroom door tapping his foot anxiously, waiting for the cyborg to make her day view with his present.

"How long do I have to wait?" John called to the closed door.

"Just a moment" Cameron called behind the wooden barrier.

There was a part of the young man waiting outside the door, a teenage boy part of him that wanted to kick the other part of his brain in the balls for suggesting that she change in her room when she was willing and offering to change in front of him and that it was dork part of his brain that commanded the girl to change in her room.

"_Shut up, jackass!" _

"Come on Cam … how long is it going to take to change?" He called through the door.

"Patience is a virtue, John!"

"So is changing faster!"

"Is it?"

"Right now it is!"

"Hold your whores, John." Cameron called through the door. John snorted out loud.

"It's horses"

"What?"

It's horses!"

"I suppose if they're truly unattractive …"

"What?"

"Step away from the door."

As commanded John stepped away from the door and waited in anticipation before it was opened by Cameron who stood in the middle of the doorway.

She had on a beautiful silk cream sundress that fit her slender figure like a glove, John also noticed that she had changed her hair to a small bun on top of her head making the rest of her cascade of curled locks fit the dress better.

"It's perfect" She said with a bright smile and a tilt of her head.

"No …" John cleared his throat unable to look at or notice anything other than Cameron in the dress he had bought her. "You are." He wasn't sure what he was saying; to him it was meaningless dribble that seemed unchecked by his brain in the presence of a goddess.

She took him by the hand and led him into her bedroom and sat him on the bed where she stood in front of him, barefoot.

"It fits to my every movement without constriction or unwanted wardrobe malfunctions, like other things in my closet." She explained swishing the skirt in demonstration. "If a fight where to occur at a moment's notice, then I wouldn't have to change or be hindered." There was a bounce to her voice that for a moment made John hear a happy teenage girl and not a machine, even if it was just for a moment.

"Well … that wasn't what I was going for when I bought it, but if you feel that way than I'll go with it." John laughed as the girl looked at herself in the mirror twirling the skirt.

Cameron turned her head back almost guilty at the smile on his face.

"What?" he asked not understanding what the problem was that seemed to creep on her at the last minute.

"I didn't get you anything as special as you have for me." She admitted with a tighten of her right cheek and frown. John gave her a sympathetic chuckle.

"Look mom probably got me a …" He paused for a moment in thought. "Well let's just say that if I open a gift early tomorrow morning, because god knows that mom turns into a five year old on Christmas morning and sits on my bed at five - thirty in the morning and stares till I get up … but anyway if I hide a gift behind the couch then you know it was from mom. And Derek probably got me some … condoms or … six pack of Miller Light … well something that mom is going to confiscate, so to quote my favorite gift giver, no matter what you give me it will be cool, because you gave it to me." He couldn't help but feel on a high looking at the girl light up in her own machine way at the quote.

"So it's a process of elimination?" Cameron asked.

"More like fate." He chuckled.

"So I'm your fate …?" she frowned.

There was a pause between the two as if it just occurred to them what she just said. John didn't realize he was holding his breath till his face started a shade red. After he blew out a breath he laughed at the deepness of a passing curious question.

"I tell ya … that would be one hell of a pick up line at a bar." He raised his eyebrows in a way that left no doubt he was Sarah Connor's son.

"You think so?" she tilted her head.

"I don't know about me though …" He trailed off getting lost in her innocence.

"Why?" Cameron seemed interested at the prospect that there might be a flaw in her infiltration system.

"Because you would have had me the moment you walked through the door."

John had another moment were he blurted out something without thinking about what it was, he would curse the dress, but then he knew it wasn't the dresses fault that destiny had made it specially for the girl.

Cameron seemed to process the words in her chip, before she reached down and took John by the hand pulling him to his feet.

"What's up?" John looked down to see her continue to hold his hand without a wisp of a hint of letting go.

"I'm going to give you your Christmas present." She retorted stepping into his body space.

Cameron pressed her lips to John's as if she was unsure how to go about it, mostly because John was always the one who kissed her not the other way around. It took a moment of positioning before John took the reins and placed his hand on her neck and the two found their connection.

John got lost in the moment while Cameron felt her emotional simulators go off without her giving a command. A tear escaped her eyelash and stained John's cheek.

They broke the kiss and John looked up to see her misty eyes.

"You okay?" he whispered taking the hand on her neck and wiping the wet trail.

"Yes … I don't understand why I'm crying, this experience is not a sad occasion?" She reported to John.

"It'll be alright; sometime tears don't always come from sadness." John cupped her cheek and kissed her again passionately.

He wanted to move her to the bed and become one with her, to share his soul with the cyborg, to make her understand what love was and he didn't think tonight she would protest at all. But as they moved closer and closer to Cameron's bed John felt the air in the room drop to below zero.

In that moment of something being off, John knew things will and would go terribly wrong in so many ways. In the doorway of the conjoining bathrooms stood Riley in a camisole with her Christmas sweater in hand, forgotten by John and Cameron that the girl was in their bathroom trying to remove an eggnog stain.

The girl's blue eyes were big and shocked, looking from cyborg to teenage hero without so much as a blink.

"Riley …" John said calmly, the name finally turned Cameron's head while she stayed in John's personal space.

Suddenly Riley's confusion transformed to hatred and she turned to Cameron. "You sick bitch!" she screamed at the other teenage girl and stormed out of the room.

"Shit … Riley, Shit!"

* * *

"_**You'll shoot your eye out, kid." **_

The kitchen echoed the 24 hour marathon of "The Christmas Story" which was the only voices that played out over the sound of Charlie Dixon making drinks for him and Sarah.

"It's sure quiet out there." Charlie shook some ice and alcohol in a container. Sarah shrugged as she sat on the counter.

"What do you expect? The only person that everyone seems to not hate is John …" She lifted her eyebrows and ate a cherry from a bowl. She caught Charlie staring at her with a smile that uses to make her heart flutter.

"What?" she shook her head in confusion at what that stare meant.

"Nothing … just, nothing." He went back to mixing.

There was a silence again as neither knew what to say to one another, the last time that either one had seen each other was after John viciously beat down the EMT when he found out Charlie had, had sex with Sarah while he was gone. The truth was Sarah didn't want to talk about it, which she knew was what her ex was trying to lead up to, the reason she didn't want to talk about it was that it hadn't meant anything to her, all night she thought about Derek and their kiss. She felt ashamed, because she had used Charlie and she didn't have the decency to tell him that it wasn't about them that night, it was about distracting herself.

"Hey you remember that Christmas back in Nebraska when we got snowed in all that week and we couldn't buy each other gifts." He laughed longingly.

"Yeah … John drew you a motorcycle on notebook paper and he wrapped up my newly laundered underwear and gave them to me as a present." She smiled cradling a beer to her chest, while Charlie laughed.

"I remember your present to me …" He trailed off with a mischievous smile.

"I bet you would." She took a sip.

"Hey … it's not every day a girl wears lingerie made from shiny red wrapping paper and ribbons." He turned back to her.

"I had a lot of time on my hands." Sarah shrugged.

Both looked at one another then turned away, one nervously, the other with a smile.

"Sarah …" Dixon spoke her name with a tone that could have gone a thousand ways, all in directions Sarah couldn't let them go.

"Charlie" Sarah cut him off. "Let's not go there." She shook her head.

"Why not!" he said in sudden frustration at her request. "Why can't we go there I …"

"Don't"

"I love you."

"Damnit Charlie." Sarah slammed her hand on the counter with force.

"What … what is it that's keeping us apart?" He asked. Sarah shook her head not wanting to stay to hurt him. "Is it this life of yours … I can adapt, hey!" He took her arm and turned her back to look at him. "If this is your life, then it'll be ours, as long as we're together, I don't care." He took her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Charlie … the waitress Sarah Reese, the life we knew and wanted back in Nebraska, it was an illusion, a nice dream, that won't come true." She spoke harshly, wrenching out of his grip.

"That's bullshit!" He gave chase after her when she moved farther into the kitchen. "You're holding back on me …" He accused her crossing his arms in defiance. Sarah stopped and began leaning on the refrigerator, when he smelled her out.

"Please … let it die." She begged him not make her say it.

"You owe me the truth!" he yelled at her.

"Goddamnit …!" She turned and pushed him away from her. "I DON"T FEEL THE SAME WAY ANYMORE!" Sarah roared at the man, a hail storm of emotions denting her self-control.

Charlie was expecting excuses, reasons that it wasn't okay for them to be together. Sarah's dangerous life, John's safety, but what she just screamed at him was something that he wasn't ready for at all. At first he was more than willing to think it was just a ploy to get him to leave her for good, but the sincerity in her eyes was worst than being shot.

"It's been only a year to you since we we're going to get married …" he trailed off in a sort of dazed shock.

"Damn you, Charlie!" She growled at the hurt that Sarah had tried with all her heart to avoid that now engulfed the man that at one time she thought she would spend her life with.

"Is it someone else …?" He asked. Sarah let her tell do the talking, averting her eyes from the question. Charlie nodded bitterly and walked several steps away. "Who?" The older man asked, putting his hands behind his head like a winded runner. Sarah bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest.

"Damn, it's cold out there." Derek limped in with small grunts as his cane clicked on the tiled floor.

The flicker of fire when Sarah exchanged looks with the soldier made it clear as a cloudless March sky to Dixon who had taken the love of his life from him.

"Him!" Charlie shouted involuntarily when it hit him.

"What's going on in here?" Derek spotted the emotionally drained look on Sarah's face and the look of growing aggression from rejection on Charlie's.

"Nothing" Sarah turned away, emotion evident in her voice. Derek's eyes searched the situation out with some of the facts evident by the looks on the people's faces.

"Out of all the people in this world, why did it have to be him?" Charlie shook his head.

"I …" Sarah couldn't find the words to explain what she felt for Derek at least not without saying that it was deeper than anything she had felt for the EMT.

"He's not him, Sarah!" Dixon lost himself in the moment. "If that's what this is, then you're fooling yourself, because that's not John's father!" he pointed at Derek viciously.

"Get out Charlie …" Sarah had murder in her eyes at the mention of Kyle.

There was a silence in the room as Dixon struggled to find something to say, to apologize for his angry out burst, not wanting the final conversation to end that way.

"Get out!" Sarah snapped, startling everyone in the room.

As Charlie finally lurched toward the doorway of the kitchen, The older man paused in front of Sarah, he reached out a hand to touch Sarah's soft raven hair and kiss her good bye, and despite what had been said she was willing to let him have that as he was once someone she loved, but there was a large crack and Charlie recoiled his hand painfully when the wooden end of Derek's cane bruised the man's wrist.

"The door is that way." The Lieutenant said coldly, pain behind his gritted teeth from standing on both legs.

When Sarah made no protest Charlie walked out of the room, both occupants didn't stir till the sound of the front door opened and closed. A beat afterward the soldier wheezed at the throbbing and put his weight on the cane, leaning back on the island and shoving his hand in his green army trench coat.

Sarah couldn't find anywhere to place her eyes but the floor, not sure what to say or do at the moment, it was out in the open now, for Derek to see how she felt. Sarah could sit there and deny it, to tell him that she didn't love him one bit and the only reason she let Charlie go was because she just didn't feel that way about him, but Derek wasn't easily fooled and if anything what she said to him on the mall bench was more truth than she had told anyone in her life, but in a way it was fitting, because for some reason the man across the kitchen from her knew more about her than anyone had in her entire life, even more than John.

"He's not wrong …" Derek said looking up at Sarah. "I'm not Kyle and I won't be his substitute when it comes to you." His concentrated unwavering gaze was a double bladed sword for Sarah, because on one hand it made you feel like the only thing in his universe while on the other it made Sarah feel naked under a spotlight.

"Derek … not now, please." She shook her head fighting tears that threatened to spill out of her from the stress and confusion of what turned out of the night's events.

"Alright …" Derek nodded sympathizing and limped with distinctive clinks.

"Derek" Sarah called to him, her voice breaking slightly.

The soldier's face softened when he heard his name and when he turned he didn't think he had ever saw Sarah so young before or vulnerable. It made him uncomfortable, because that wasn't the woman he fell in love with, this was Kyle's frail and spoiled debutant standing behind him, but even so it didn't stop him from waiting on her to ask something of him.

"Please … don't leave." She didn't beg, but the sadness and frailty was projected in her low tone.

It took Derek a second to realize that she didn't just mean not to leave her alone in the kitchen, but asking him not to leave her like her father, like the right kind of love her mother should have had for her, like Kyle, the first person who ever truly loved her, and like John will someday. When the war was over, she wanted Derek to be there, to one day hold her till old age took her, or the cancer she feared killed her.

The man gave her a shit eating grin that had become his trade mark. "It would take nothing less then a bullet in the head to get rid of me."

A soft smile replaced the stressed confusion and in that kitchen they had reached the accord that they would silently hold each other too forever.

"_You sick bitch!" _

There was a thunder of noise from the upstairs before the stomping of feet came from the stairs. Sarah and Derek traded looks and walked into the living room where Riley's arm was being yanked back by John at the foot of the stairs while Cameron watched on the landing in a dress that Sarah didn't recognize and Derek immediately became creeped out by when he did.

"Riley, look I can explain what was going on …" John didn't seem to sound confident about that promise. The blond pulled out of the grip aggressively and took a step back.

"You were kissing her!" She shouted in John's face, and then shot daggers at a passive Cameron who was watching with innocent eyes that made Riley sick to the core.

"What!" Derek and Sarah both shouted in outrage at once.

The children turned, noticing for the first time that the "Parents" had been watching from in front of the sofa.

"It's not human!"

The words that rang from the girls angry lips sounded suspicious to John, though the statement might be linked to the incest the girl thought she was witnessing, there was more than a part of John that made him think that it was more of a statement labeled for Cameron, making him think that maybe Riley knew what Cameron was.

"What do you think you're doing with her …?" Riley poured the pressure on John, who was beginning to feel like he had walked into an ambush without any means of escape or surrender. "She's dangerous, she's a …" the girl stopped and caught herself from saying something she shouldn't. "She's a soul stealing whore." She spat at Cameron who glared back with a menacing tilt of her head.

"That's enough!" John grabbed Riley and unknowingly shook her in anger.

"It's not nearly enough!" the girl yelled in out of control rage that was now directed at John and no one else. "You have a full real life girl in front of you, someone who will keep secrets for you and sit through the shit that your crazy mother puts her through, who is willing to go all the way for and with you, yet you throw it all away for what … to pump the cunt of some soulless slut !" She jammed a finger at Cameron while still looking John in the eye.

SMACK

"John!" Sarah yelled in shock.

The teenage girl was on the ground with a flaring red welt where the future leader of the Resistance's hand slapped her. Cameron descended the steps quicker then it was thought possible and encircled John with her arms from the last step just in case he looked to press the attack. Riley didn't look fazed from the strike as if it was old news to be hit for mouthing off and it made John feel as horrible as the bruise on the girl's face will be in the morning.

Sarah went to help Riley to her feet, feeling the need to make up for the action that put her to the floor in the first place. But when she grabbed the girls arm gently she was shoved into the back of the couch by the blond who began to stumble to her feet.

"Don't you touch me! You're just as much of gutter trash as that piece of ass!" she yelled at the green eyed woman with pure hate that surprised her target.

"Excuse me!" Sarah was shrill at the deeply disrespectful tone and name she was just called by a girl she didn't much care for.

"You heard me, you boyfriend stealing tramp!"

If Derek hadn't gotten a hold of Sarah's slender waist as she lunged at the camisole clad girl, Riley would've ended up on the rug again.

Suddenly the front door flew open with a large bang that startled the toxic room, letting the situation air out for the moment.

Ryan rushed inside, cell phone in hand and open. The officer darted for the table and fumbled with the remote turning the channel from Ralphie beating a red headed bully to one of the million public access stations that littered the Los Angeles television networks.

On the screen a familiar Asian woman sat on the cold floor of a storage space. Her slender body was completely naked, bruised and horrifically gashed in bloody carved designs of pure sadism, as if she had been tortured, her breasts and crouch blurred by sensors. The woman was whimpering as what looked and sounded like a handheld Camera zooming in and out of her face.

"So, we'll start with the basics … what's your name?" A deep and gruff Slavic hinted accent asked as if this was amusing.

"Jessie …" The Asian woman replied with an Australian accent. The Camera man sighed at her response.

"That's not what they taught you to say when captured "Jesse" is it?" the camera got closer as Jessie's captor walked up to her kneeling form and sent a steel toed boot into her rib, to which she cried out in pain.

"Oh God!" a voice off camera screamed in sobs of fear. The camera whipped to a pale red headed girl in pink underwear in the fetal position.

"Shut up!" the voice behind the camcorder sounded demonic. The red headed teen covered her face in fear and trembled alone. The man switched it back to Jesse who was on her side, her lips parched and cracked.

"Now …" the voice was suddenly back to calm and amused. "What's your name?" He asked again.

"Jesse Flores … Tech-Com Commander, USS Jimmy Cater, SNNB 187663" She responded shakily, her body twitching.

"Now was that hard?" The man had a gravely chuckle. "Now, did John Connor send you?" He asked the woman.

"Hmm …" she moaned out unintelligibly. The camera walked up to her again, reaching down a prison inked hand, the man pulled her by her hair making her scream out in sudden pain.

"It's a simple question!" he tugged. "Yes!" He nodded her head ruthlessly. "Or no!" He twisted her head with even less remorse from side to side.

"No!" she screamed as blood ran down her scalp from a reopened wound.

"Then why are you here?" he yanked again.

"Revenge!" Jesse screamed at first. "I'm here for payback …" she whimpered loud enough for the camera to pick it up.

"On who?" The captor had a mocked surprised voice as if this was the first time he had heard of this.

"Ca … Cameron, CONNOR'S PET METAL!" She raised her voice to a yell when he tugged for her to be louder.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Commander Flores, don't you know who the deepest circles of hell are reserved for?" He asked now outright laughing at her answer to his previous question.

Jesse gave no response, she just flicked her look to the camera with conquered dark eyes that were resigned to their fate.

"I guess I'll let you find out …" the glimmer of a machete appeared on screen, held by tattooed hands. The man set down the camera on the floor out of sight, yet off screen the sound grunting and gurgling filled the warehouse. A shrill scream of terror came from the teenage girl as blood spatter stained the camera and Jesse's severed head rolled in front of it.

Derek who had been watching intently stood stiff and unmoving in shock, while Riley fell to her knees silent tears running down her face. Sarah turned away from the sight of the head. John stood in Cameron's arms not sure what just happened, while Cameron watched stone faced. Ryan however was seething with a dangerous silent rage, his arms now crossed as he watched on, knowing full well who was on camera and what was about to be challenged.

The screen cut out and returned to the girl lying in a protective ball shaking while she hid her face.

"You see what it costs you when you fall in love with the wrong woman … if you can call her that?" the growled voice laughed demonically and kicked Jesse' severed head at the girl who broke down crying after blood sprayed her half naked body.

"Your men have turned on you and in the future, the name Connor is no longer a prayer, but a curse … metal lover, murder, traitor, and mother fucker. That's what your men call you. Your child, a renegade forced to live down a tarnished deity's legacy of lies and deceit." He laughed as he zoomed in on the crying girl. "But, just maybe, if you come to save this sweet innocent girl, your destiny wouldn't be reduced to a man who ends up in love with the ghost of a woman long dead."

The screen went to color bars for a moment before a bulletin of community events returned to the screen with Kenny G's Christmas album playing over it.

The living room was quiet, filled with sudden shock and mental tardiness to the situation, it seemed like years ago, that Riley had went on a mental brake down, lashing out at the entire family, now she was face down on the floor, hands behind her head sobbing silently into the rug at the foot of the stairs. Sarah watched Derek, she wasn't sure why, but somehow she knew just who that woman was to the soldier who looked dazed in confusion with uncertainty if he should cry or be angry.

Alone in the room John felt guilt, he had listened and heard what was said about him, about his future self and his love for Cameron, what it will do to him and the rest of his future family. He turned to look into brown eyes that seemed to be watching him for some sort of reaction. The problem was he wasn't sure what it should be.

The sound of the a phone viciously snapping shut cut the silence, Everyone except Derek and Riley turned back to Ryan who slapped his thigh in anger after several moments of listening to the other end of a phone line.

"Get me a map!" Ryan called to John or Cameron; maybe it was both of them, either way he was pissed. Cameron released John and walked into the kitchen. John watched her go, not knowing if the feelings fluttering around him as he watched her in the dress were worth the cost of the future.

John numbly watched Sarah kneel to the floor and pull an emotional Riley to her knees gently, the cruel words said to her forgotten in a cloud of maternal motivation. Sarah was whispering something in the girl's ear as her broken up face buried it's self into Sarah's chest like a small child.

"Hey!" Ryan shook Derek back into reality. "You here?" he asked with a stern voice.

"Yeah … Yeah, I'm here." He cleared his throat, fighting his pain back somewhere deep inside himself, placing it where he stored Kyle's death and his parents.

"We need to take _**Steel**_ out now, before he gets away again …" Hatred seeped out Ryan's being at the mention of the name.

"Agreed" Derek nodded with a crazed glare of dislike of his own.

Cameron strutted in with a city map and removed the food and laid it out on the table. Both men walked over to the dinning room table, as Ryan passed John he stopped a moment.

"Is what he said true … about me and Cameron?" the boy asked sobering himself. "Is this what it leads to?" he looked into pools of brown.

Ryan looked troubled and unsure about what he wanted to say to him. "Look" he cleared his throat. "A lot of bad things happened in the future, events that won't happen again … I promise you that." The man gave an encouraging slap to the young man's arm and started for the dinning room.

"Who is she?" John called after him.

"Who?" Ryan didn't turn to face John when he stopped dead in the tracks.

"He said I end up falling in love with a dead woman? Is it that girl the monster has captive?" He asked unsure if he wanted to know what the answer was.

Suddenly Ryan was standing on a snow drenched mountain standing toe to toe with his father, both in layers, both of their breakfast plates spilled on the snow while they yelled at each other, three years of crawling coming out on that freezing morning.

"_Look where we are … on top of a damn mountain pass in CHILE!" _

"_That's were she says the tracks are going." _

"_SHE'S NOT REAL!" _

"_That's enough of this …" _

"_Dad … she's been dead for fourteen years, she's not here, she doesn't tuck me in at night, you don't snuggle with her to keep her warm … and you don't have sex with her! You talk to yourself at night and during the day. Back at that village you came close to trading all our navigational equipment for a female coat that we don't need!" _

"_Shut up!" _

"_Damnit dad! I know you love mom and you miss her terribly, but this is insane, the woman in the jungle, that wasn't Sarah Connor! That was that liquid bitch playing with your head. _

"_What the hell would you know about it?" _

"_I watch you! It kills me every time you start carrying on conversations with a rock, or when you can't even tell the difference between being in love and being loved. Weaver has lured you away from Mom with a shadow of a woman that didn't love you like that! She's destroying this family little by little … and you don't even see it!" _

"_She's helping us find your mother … she wouldn't lie to me, she's going to lead us to Cameron and then we'll all be a family again!" _

"_Listen to yourself, don't you hear how crazy you sound. __**Sarah Connor is dead!**__ and the more these delusions lead us off course the more Weaver keeps mom in her … mom needs us now and some woman in your head isn't going to help us find her!" _

"_All she's ever done is love you with all her heart and you treat her like some damn slave that we …" _

_CRACK_

"… _Break Camp, there is a long way to go today." _

"_Damn it I just punched you and you still won't listen to me!" _

"_Saddle up, Cowboy." _

He could still see his father walking away his arm draped around an imaginary slender waste whispering comfort to a woman that wasn't there.

Ryan looked at the face of his young and hopeful father as he waited on pins and needles for an answer to his question.

"No … that isn't her."

One day Cameron Connor will leave her family to protective them, one day after three years of searching, John Connor will learn that his wife left him and was not kidnapped and on that day the great hero will give his love to the ghost of Sarah Connor, because in his soul destroying sorrow he believed that she was the only person in whole cursed life that ever truly loved him. While Ryan, once the embodiment of a great love, now was an everlasting reminder to John of one of the greatest deceptions that not even Skynet could've pulled off.

As the officer walked away he caught a glimpse of Sarah watching him and for a moment he hated her with all his soul, he hated her for sharing a deep bond with his father that one day will be exploited into something that would twist John Connor to the gates of insanity.

In the dinning room Derek drew a square with a sharpie covering the downtown area and at the edge where Pescadero stood.

"This is the _Cage_." The soldier announced dropping his index finger in the center of the perimeter and tapped it thoughtfully.

Ryan found the nickname for the National Guard quarantined area of the city where the state's psychopaths have set up shop quite fitting.

"Yeah well that's going to be a problem because Steel was broadcasting here …" Ryan took the sharpie and X'd a building toward the middle of the no man's land area of L.A. that was fenced off.

John watched silently for a moment thoughts rushing through his head like overhead lights rushing by on a night's highway.

"Then it's a good bet that's where she's at." Sarah walked up without warning, placing a discreet hand on John's shoulder, wanting a just as silent answer to her question of if he was alright. John turned from the map, giving her intense green eyes a look while his matching pair was still a storm with plans. He gave the map one last good look.

"I need to go upstairs a moment …" He announced to everyone, though only Sarah and Cameron seemed to hear him.

"Take as much time as you need." Sarah figured the events had finally caught up with him, she ran a hand through his hair maternally, he moved his head from her touch with irritation that only a teenager could get for a parents nostalgia and old habits.

Cameron moved to follow her charge up the stairs, but received a snap of fingers from the green eyed woman who pointed to the spot she had been standing a second ago. "Stay!" she snapped the news that she had been kissing her son still fresh on her mind despite all that happened. The girl glared, but obeyed the command returning to her sentry position over the map where Ryan and Derek were now arguing over the next move.

"It's never that easy!" Derek sounded on edge.

"It's always that easy, but nothing is what it seems." Ryan countered.

Sarah wasn't sure what was going on, but it was clear that the two Tech-Com officers seemed to have more than a clue about who was behind what was going on. She was about to ask for answers when the sound of a car pulling out of the driveway. She figured that Riley left, which she counted as a blessing and was happy that the girl had taken her advice and was returning home.

"Bastard most likely will have something waiting and will be watching from someplace close." Derek grunted to Ryan who was leaning over the map.

"Who is he …?" Sarah asked loud enough to be heard.

"He was a small time slave trader and thief …" Derek answered her.

"More like a rapist and butcher." Ryan growled in correction. The older soldier seemed to pause at the facts he didn't want to remember in order to keep Jesse's memory as she was in his mind and not as he imagined her last hours had been.

"But … it looks like he entered Skynet's service of late."

"You think he's working for Skynet?" Cameron asked.

"The Resistance sure as hell isn't signing his paychecks." Derek shot at the girl in response, Sarah not being the only one to remember about John and Cameron kissing.

"And the girl?" Sarah crossed her arms.

Ryan and Derek shared a look as if neither wanted to answer the question.

"Kate Brewster, she was … might be John's second wife." Derek sighed rubbing his soul patch with a hurt look in his eye as if fighting off an unpleasant memory.

"What about his first?" Sarah asked. Ryan looked up from the map and set the beautiful woman with a cold and hard glare that made Sarah dip her head a little, after a moment Ryan went back to the map.

"Did he love Kate?"

There was something strange about the way Cameron asked the question that seemed fragile and almost a little hurt sounding, as if the knowledge that John remarried pained her emotionally.

"He liked her well enough." Derek spat at the girl dulling a little sadistic pleasure out of the machine's sorrowful sounding voice.

"She was convenient …" There was a hard grit to Ryan's tone that somehow contradicted Derek while at the same time made Sarah sad to hear that John hadn't married out of love, only adding to the belief that one day her son will be sitting in a room alone till his life wastes away.

"But he said …" Cameron started.

"I think he would be on the highest point of the street." Ryan cut off Cameron, drawing a circle around the X on the map with is finger. "Doesn't Da … John have a 3D map of the city on his computer?" He looked up at Sarah.

"Yeah …" She responded turning on to the steps to see Riley sitting on the stairs sniffling, cradling the small cup of alcohol that Sarah had given her to calm the girl. Then it hit Sarah after opening her mouth to call her son.

Sarah rushed to the window and threw open the curtains to find her blue jeep gone from the gravel driveway. Wordlessly she turned to the group around the dinning room table.

"Damnit!" Ryan turned and went into the kitchen.

"What's he thinking …" Derek joined Sarah at the window needing to see the empty spot for self confirmation.

"John does these things sometimes." Cameron stated stiffly.

"We know!" Sarah and Derek retorted in unison turning to face the girl together, looking the part of a married couple and parents.

Ryan walked back into the room, placing his helmet on the table. "He's rushing into a trap." he said snapping his gun belt on and checking the magazine to his Colt.

"We got to stop him …" Sarah followed the soldier into the living room, Riley who had been whimpering in misery a second ago now tensed silently at the sight of the fire arm.

"Reese keep them here!" Ryan called as he reached for the door.

"He will, will he?" Sarah grabbed him back.

"We don't have time for this."

"I couldn't agree more!"

"Listen to me!"

It was that voice, the desperate seriousness that caused Sarah to go numb and listen to the man that was clearly Kyle's blood.

"He knows what you and Cameron look like … alright, John's going to wander in there and the more of us Steel sees the more likely it will paint a bigger target on this house!" He shook Sarah. "For once in your life let me do this my way!" he shoved her aside and left with the slam of the door.

* * *

The sound of the wind howling through the ruined buildings of downtown Los Angeles was like a grieving widow or mother for a dead loved one newly killed. The moonlight was barely enough to light the way through the no man's land of shot up businesses and charred remains of a post office.

In the silent street a bullet pummeled tan humvee cruised smoothly through the dead section of the metropolis, no headlights, just the keen eyes of a teenage boy in stolen California National Guard gear a size to big for him.

John couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of walking dream into his future. All around him was shattered glass and scorch marks of riot produced pyrotechnics on an abandoned Police precinct. He scanned the area for any criminals that might be wandering through the streets, looking for an easy kill. He knew that there would be a hard enough time rescuing the girl without taking fire from California's most wanted.

His mind even concentrating on his self imposed mission to rescue this stranger who supposedly will be important to his future he couldn't help but ponder on Cameron and the consequences of a relationship with her.

He wasn't sure what to believe anymore, his mother, his uncle, Charlie, even his men in the future. Everyone tells him that being in love with a machine is a mistake, that she doesn't have feelings or the capabilities to love him, yet they didn't see her at the night of the fall formal dance, paralyzed in the truck and even tonight, there was no denying that she was something different, something more than what his family thinks or even his men.

"_Who else is there?" _

John Connor knew there was no turning back now; Cameron was the only girl he had ever loved discounting when he was five and was dead set on marrying his mom. It simply was impossible to sit and think of a future ten or twenty years down the road, good or bad without his protector sitting next to him, calling pitches at baseball games before the pitcher even throws the ball, or the devious excitement on her face at the blood sport that was College Football.

Then why was he out there? Why was he on the road driving through a part of L.A. that was now considered one of the most dangerous places in the world looking for "the little red head girl"? He felt a twinge of guilt, because the only word that came to mind was one that he hated to hear from anyone.

"_Obligation" _

Yes, John knew the reason he was off to save this girl from the invisible mercenary; it was because he felt an obligation to her life, a debt to her future self who obviously was important at some point to General John Connor's life.

As he approached the street X'd on the map he could see an aluminum looking building in the distance that had been sprayed by a few thousand bullets and resembled a warehouse.

John killed the engine and pulled out a AR 15 with a night scope and exited the vehicle and ducked and ran to a position several yards away and knelt, using the corner of a old brick building for cover. He observed the warehouse with his night scope on his rifle.

He knew immediately that it was the building when he saw a large broadcasting dish and a long antenna with a blinking red light at its tip.

The hero took several minutes scoping the building, it was surrounded by a short fence with a layer of barbwire, and there was a pair of loading docks next to a heavy painted door that served as an entrance. He flicked up to the roof tops surrounding the aluminum warehouse, he saw nothing.

He took a deep breath and darted across the street at a sprint. Once he reached the fence he slid to the ground just in case someone had a beat on him. After pushing his helmet back up he removed his body armor and tossed it on top of the barbwire. With one last sweep of the roof tops, he jumped up and over the fence using the armor to shield his hands from the sharp barbs.

There was a heightened sense of his surroundings as he crawled on his stomach toward the white service door, once out of sight from the brittle windows John popped to his feet and crouched as he moved next to the door. He licked his lips nervously unslinging his rifle. He closed his eyes a moment and with a deep breath his green eyes turned hard and dangerous. With a swift kick the door swung open and John burst through.

He stopped abruptly once inside.

The girl he had came to save was tied to a wicker chair her face frozen in horror, her body mutilated and gutted like a butchered cow, blood pooled from between her thighs. In the back ground near the corner of the door the sound of "Sincerely" by the Afterglows played on a scratchy record player.

The shocked and sorrowful young man could do nothing but remove his helmet in some unknowing sense of respect for the dead girl he never knew.

John numbly walked to the body and reached out to close her eyes. That's when he heard the faint sound of beeping like a microwave timer. He followed the sound to the ceiling to where he found a timer in the middle of large bloody writing; it was attached to wires of explosives on top of barrels behind the dead girl.

As it clicked to the last seven seconds, the young man glanced at a saying that will never have the same meaning ever again to him.

**NO FATE**

**

* * *

**

Royce Stannis was a hard man to serve under. He was strict and cold, there were few mistakes that the commander of the National Guard battalion would let get pass with a warning, and even less patience for a man or woman's flaws.

So when the hook nosed balding man stood in his big poofy military jacket in front of an empty guard station at the main gate to the no man's land that needed be watched 24/7 or the chances that the criminal infestation would grow, to say he was angry was a sore understatement. In fact the heat coming off his face alone was hot enough to warm the barracks a mile down the road.

He cussed angrily at the desertion and at the sudden and almost forgotten snow fall that slowly drifted to the ground.

"What do you know, I guess it does snow in hell?"

Royce glared at his pretty petite Latina aid who was leaning on there humvee. She smiled anyway letting her commander turn back wordlessly to the empty post.

"Get on the wire, corporal. I want to know who is supposed to be here tonight." Stannis commanded.

"Yes sir"

The sight of a single head light appeared in the distance accompanied by the roar of a small, but a powerful engine. Squinting at the mismatch of pitch dark and bright headlight, both soldiers watched a motorcycle mounted by a man with a brown leather jacket and a black visor helmet with two blue streaks on top race toward the humvee in a collision course.

The young Latina soldier rushed out of the way as the rider got closer. Stannis drew his pistol in defense, but the rider didn't seem to notice or care about the two. The rider simply jumped the sleek racing vehicle on to the front of the military truck and rode on the back like a ramp, jumping the motorcycle off the tail and over the gate, landing on the other side on his back wheel, performing a wheelie before putting the front wheel on the ground and stormed off into the darkness.

Ryan pushed the bike through the ruins, feeling a rush of adrenaline and familiarity at maneuvering a motorcycle through a broken street at a reckless speed, always being chased by motor terminators, or chasing a monkey wagon through Pico, now it was his gallant fool of a teenage father who took off at the slightest pretense into danger to save a complete stranger. He now knew how his mother and father use to feel when Ryan would do the same in his youth.

He expertly avoided piles of stones and burnt tires and leapt over rode blocks, taking short cuts through ransacked businesses and looted restaurants. The rumble of the engine somehow made him on edge and anxious to get to where he was going.

As he drifted the bike to the corner, he saw a metal warehouse in the distance and the shadow of a figure bursting through the door. It didn't take Ryan long to get to the front of the metal gate.

"John!" He called

BOOM!

The entire warehouse erupted in an explosion, sending the soldier flying through a corner building window with a neglected sign that read "Tech Noir".

* * *

"_**This is your very own secret Santa, Pow Wow Peter with this Christmas Day evening headlines. Last night an explosion rocked a warehouse on Third and Pico were Police report the mystery broadcast of the now infamous Christmas Eve beheading took place. Sources report that it was set off by a Private in the Guard, but there is no comment from Colonel Stannis … in related news there is still no sign of kidnapped teen Katherine Brewster …" **_

A figure sitting in the brooding darkness of a family tool shed reached up and turned off the radio that sat on the work bench. The figure returned his hand to the arm rest of his chair and stared at the ground, hand twitching in pain a moment.

The sound of a feet crunching over gravel echoed closer and closer to the door till the faint shadow appeared on the crack under the door.

Carefully the door opened only letting enough light to reach the tips of burned jump boots. Cameron was dressed in her sun dress, hair curled to perfection and the twilight behind her gave her an ethereal appearance as she tried to get more light into the shed unsuccessfully.

"John …" She called into the room holding a tray of medical supplies in hand.

The shadow sitting in the dark said nothing to her, not even blinked.

"I've come to redress your burns." She started to walk into the shed.

"Leave me alone, Cameron."

John's voice was gruff and growled; he didn't sound himself, at least not like the teen who had kissed the beauty in her room only hours ago.

"But it's been five hours and I haven't seen since you took off …"

John said nothing to her.

Cameron moved forward again.

"What did I just say?" There was a strained fierceness to his voice that would have made Cameron jump in fear if she had been human.

"But … what about your burns?" She tilted her head.

"Get out" John sighed with a sorrow that seemed to reach his very core.

"John, I have to …"

"GET OUT!"

A radio flew from the work bench and struck the base of the door near Cameron's head. She didn't flinch away from the loud crash, or the blood curding roar that she had become accustom to in the future.

But this time it was different, the John of the future often screamed at her and threw things, he cussed her out when she did something wrong or when she said things that were so technical that it reminded him that she was still a machine, but this was her John, the John that loved her like all the romance books she read at night, the John that might create life inside of her. Somehow in a night he was no longer the John that taught her how to use the DVD player, or ate lunch with her every day at school no matter how much people made fun of him for not being able to walk down the road without holding her hand. Now he was the John of the future who seemed to let his grief take the humanity from him, who lost a soul many years ago, who would hold her in his sleep, yet take nothing from her but her body heat and the softness of her belly as a pillow.

Before she knew it, her eyes were crying despite the stoic face. With the look of a kicked puppy she turned and left outside, leaving John to himself.

Yet when the door looked to be almost shut it swung open again revealing Sarah in a tight long sleeve white shirt and jeans. She held a tray of medical supplies that Cameron was carrying.

"You done throwing your tantrum?" she asked harshly, tilting her head.

"Mom … not now." He shook his head.

"Yes now …" She left no word for arguments as she waltzed into the shack and closed the door behind her, bathing both in darkness.

"How am I supposed to work if I can't see your injuries?" Sarah asked.

"I don't want you too …" John said sharply with a voice that his mother still couldn't recognize or put a face on.

"Since you got home, you've sat alone in this shed, with Ryan being the only one to see you, now you're hurt and you're going to show me your injuries do you understand me?"

Sarah felt like she had walked into her nightmares. Each night an adult John would sit alone in the dark, his life was a shell of nothingness that had consumed him. In her dreams her son was tall and handsome with an emptiness that you could feel in the great command room of the Resistance. She would apologize to him in tears; beg him for forgiveness for bringing him into this world so he could be alone. She would scream and hit him, for a reaction, for something that could replace the empty look of sorrow. At the end she would always curl herself in his lap and bury her head in his chest and wonder if hell was too good for a mother who left her son to die alone.

"Mom …" John's voice was almost pleading her not to go through with making him show her what had happened to him.

"John Connor, turn on the light!" She snapped strictly.

Slowly a hand reached for the light switch and after a moment of hesitation the light flicked on.

John sat in an arm chair, still wearing the charred tan fatigue pants of the National Guard, while a Black T-shirt replaced his fatigue button down and tan green T-shirt.

"_What have they done to my baby?" _

The skin on the entire back of her boy's neck, upper back and edges of his ears and lob was grotesquely blackened and crusty. Half the back of his head was burned mildly; his hair was synged off and was covered with heat blisters that oozed puss. On his right cheek was a discolored red burn with an angry welt in the middle. When John spotted the horrified Look on Sarah's face he turned away from his mother immediately and looked down at his thighs in defeat, a single tear fell into his lap.

She cleared her misty eyes and without hesitation Sarah walked to her boy and got on her knees in front of him, placing a comforting hand on his thigh and with the other she lifted John's chin with a feather touch till they were eye level.

"Mom …I couldn't save her … He raped her to death and … instead of rescuing her I was turned into a monster."

In that instant she heard her little boy again, he was ashamed and sad of his failure to save Kate and what the injuries that had been inflicted on him represented.

"John … you're not a monster" She shook her head as she stroking his cheek.

"Please, don't look at me." He begged her

She knew he was afraid, afraid that she wouldn't see him as her son anymore, but the freak that she didn't want. It was the same thing that she feared of what John would see her as when she escaped Pescadero and was in his life again.

The beautiful woman leaned in and lightly kissed the burn on her son's cheek and then cleared his tears away as hers came on.

"You think that I would see you any different because of this? The day I found out I was pregnant, even at seventeen years old, I swore I would love you no matter what happened, This won't change that, nothing will …" She sniffled. "You're still the most handsome boy I've ever seen." She smiled through tears.

John's body shook suddenly as if surrendering with silent sobs at the comment and he lowered his head to rest on her shoulder. Sarah took him in her arms and buried her head in the top of his remaining hair as he cried.

* * *

The night was cold and distant as it was almost inhumanly still with the only movement being the heavy snowfall shadowing on the wall of the master bedroom of the Connor house.

Ryan sat on the large bed and counted the timing of how her chest rose and fell like clock work, it was the same breath pattern every night. He reached his hand out and brushed some hair out of her face.

When she was peaceful, like she was now, Ryan could see the cheerleader captain in the picture on his father's desk. Twenty five years later it still hurt him deeply to see her so heart broken and fragile looking, even in her slumber.

He reached out and lightly stroked the milky smooth skin of her back under her threadbare white tank top, feather tipped fingers soothing out the slight moan of a discomforting dream. She sighed dreamily and her eyes opened slowly and a confused look broke over her face.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked.

Ryan cleared his throat and looked away and removed his hand quickly.

"I don't know …" He seemed just as confused as she was. What was he doing in here and how did he even get inside? "I uh … I don't remember."

_She sat up on her elbows and gave the confused and ever so tired soldier a gentle and loving smile as shadows of snow flakes fell across her face.. _

"_What's troubling you?" She sat up a little more. _

"_Steel is here …" Ryan responded. _

"_I know …" She tilting her head running her hand through his hair._

_He cradled his head in his hands tiredly. _

"_Ryan?" She called him. _

"_I can't …" Ryan said into his hands. He looked up at her and shook his head. "I don't know if I have enough in me to take him on." He searched her eyes. _

_**Sarah got out of the bed and crawled up, the smooth material of her silk panties glimmering in the moon light. She sat across his lap on the edge of the bed.**_

"_**My enemies are surrounding me, and I don't have enough strength to break the siege." Ryan wrapped his arms around her slender waist. "Death is coming for me …" He looked into hardened emeralds that seemed to look in his soul. **_

"_**I know" She spoke solemnly touching his cheek, the man turned his head into the touch, trying to find some comfort from the fate he couldn't escape from. **_

_**Suddenly in a flash Ryan saw a familiar gothic dinning room lit by a soft glow of candle light. At the edge of the table a man with a gorilla like body mass sat at the end and next to him a raven haired beauty in a wedding gown collapsed in sorrow when she stared across the table at the figure of a man sitting in a place of honor at the wedding feast, he was wearing Ryan's leather jacket and clothes with many Resistance war metals pinned to the jacket as if to mock him, yet instead of a human head on his body one of a Coyote was sown in it's place. **_

_**Then as fast as he was there he was gone, Sarah still sat in his lap watching him her hand exploring the stubble on his jaw. Ryan felt the deep need of comfort and shelter from what he believed awaited him**_

_**He ran a hand down the length of the seams of her panties curiously, till it led his fingers to the warmth between her legs, the woman gave a coy Cheshire smile and leaned in and the two kissed deeply. She sighed erotically when there lips pressed together with little wet smacks. **_

_**Ryan lost himself in the moment as he laid her back on the bed and began to Savage her neck which caused her to hitch her breath harshly. His hands found the hem of her tank top and lifted it to Sarah's chest his hands lightly tracing over her belly, eliciting a whimpered moan that she tried to conceal with a bit to her lip. **_

_**But just as he began going down on her, Sarah began to laugh sadistically. **_

_**Ryan pulled off when he regained himself and looked down as Sarah Connor became a mold of liquid mercury. **_

* * *

"Never!"

Ryan shot up into a sitting position panting in panic and wild with a great and terrible fear.

It took him several beets before he realized he was no longer in Sarah Connor's bedroom, he was laying on top of the sheets of Cameron's bed in her room, his boots on the side of the bed, his head throbbing from the red eye flight from his bike to the window of Tech Noir.

The room was quiet and still as his dream had been. His hand rested on a warm spot where Cameron had been laying next to him as he drifted off to sleep.

He knew better than to doze off.

It was a different dream over and over, yet it always ended the same, He takes Sarah to bed in his fear and need of comfort from his impending doom due to the fact that she's all that matters to him and by the time he comes to his senses he has become his father.

These nightmares came almost every night and he feared to sleep.

Ryan swung his legs over and sat on the edge of the bed, now noticing Cameron standing in front of her window in her night gown, watching the full moon on the front yard. Ryan had fallen asleep with her lying next to him, as she told him about his father's actions and he consoled her till he drifted to sleep.

"I want Steel to pay for what he did to John."

Her voice was dark and murderous; the likes of Ryan had never heard his mother speak with before in his life.

"I'll kill him." Ryan stared at the moonlight shimmering off the satin of Cameron's slip.

"No"

She made no turn to face him.

"I will."

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

_**So Like I said this chapter has a lot of backstory. **_

_**The whole John/Sarah relationship came from John going a little nuts from all Cameron put him through. The whole Ryan/Sarah sex scene is his fear of becoming like John … Also make note that a couple of chapters back Weaver laid out the things that came to fruition in the scene. **_


End file.
